Innocence Lost
by L'ange-Sans-Ailes
Summary: Sinister is back, but why don't the Brotherhood seem worried? Could there be an even greater threat? Sequal to Pure Corruption.
1. Disappearing Jean

One month. One month is all it takes, to flip the world of an entire group of people upside down. One month for a person to go missing. One month for that person's family to experience despair, hopelessness, and misery. Jean Grey is gone…

-The Brotherhood Mansion-

It was early, well… early to a member of the Brotherhood. The sun had been up for a few hours, and knocking echoed throughout the new lavish mansion.

Todd hopped down the stairs in frustration, "The hell comes here before breakfast," he got to the ground floor and in one solid leap he was in front of the door, "Seriously, am I the only one who answers doors around here?" he asked placing his hand on the knob.

But, before he could give the knob a turn six very familiar Adamantium claws shot through the door encircling Todd's head in a very familiar fashion.

"Lance! It's for you!" he exclaimed hopping away from the door.

Lance quickly descended the stairs, a baseball bat firmly in hand, "Damn reporters ruining my sex-life, with what's her name," Lance mumbled as he got closer to the door.

The door then exploded into tiny splinters revealing an irate Logan, "Where is she!" he exclaimed, with his claws dangerously close to Lance's major arteries.

"Upstairs," Lance said glaring at the Canadian.

Scott then stepped in through the doorframe, "Why the hell is she up there?" he asked, optic red energy emanating from his visor.

"I'm married to her!" Lance exclaimed with a small tremor. Suddenly, Logan was flung off of Lance's body and into Scott, sending both men into the wall. "Took you long enough," Lance said glaring at Todd.

Todd shrugged, "Why are they here?" he asked taking a defensive stance.

"They're looking for Jean," the occupants of the room looked to the top of the stairs to see Wanda in her bathrobe and fuzzy bunny slippers.

"Sheila? Whoih are we arguing with Wolvie and Blinky?" St. John yawned out.

Raven walked out of their new kitchen a cup of coffee in hand, "They think we kidnapped Jean," Logan opened his mouth, but was quickly cut off, "If you bring Freddy into this, I will not hesitate to shove my hand down your throat and rip out your testicles. Mmm Peruvian beans," she said, her eyes never leaving the two intruders.

Logan growled at the woman, but promptly walked out of the door, Scott following closely behind.

Todd hopped to her side, "Have… have you ever done that before?" he asked, making sure there was a safe amount of distant between them.

Raven smirked, "Really good coffee," she said, making her way up the stairs.

"Come on yo!" Todd hopped onto the bottom step, "Is it physically possible!"

"Todd!" Lance exclaimed.

"What?" Todd asked.

"Just go to bed," Lance said beginning his trek back up the stairs.

Todd threw his arms up, "I'm not tired!"

Wanda walked down the stairs, "Come on I'll make you breakfast," Todd stared at her for a moment, "Fine, I wont use magic," she said in anger.

"Good, oih was beginnin' to worry," St. John said rubbing his hands together.

Todd looked up the stairs, then to Wanda, and finally to the gaping hole that used to be their door, "Why did we have to move next door to the X-geeks?" he asked in annoyance.

-A few minutes later at the X-Mansion-

Charles sat at his desk, going over his paperwork, when the door was thrown open. Logan and Scott walked into the room.

Logan threw himself onto one of the armchairs, "I can't find her anywhere Chuck, not even at the Brotherhood place. It's like her scent just disappeared," he said.

Scott shook his head, "Where could she have gone?" he asked worry apparent in her voice.

Charles sighed, "I do not know Scott. With her power she could be anywhere, and we would never be able to find her," he explained.

"You ever figure out what was agitating her?" Logan asked, with concern.

Charles nodded, "She seems to think that she had children."

"Children?" Scott asked, "As in more than one?"

Charles nodded in confirmation.

Logan stood up, "Why would she think something like that?" he asked stretching out his bulky muscles.

"I'm not quite sure," Charles said barely above a whisper, "Scott will you take the rest of your squad to the Danger Room for training?"

Scott nodded and then walked out of the door.

Logan waited a moment until he was sure they were alone, "I checked out all three of them," he said with a growl.

Charles sighed, "Should I fear the worst?" he asked.

Logan shrugged, "They smell off, tampered with… it's hard to explain. They are who they are, but different," he said.

Charles nodded, "I would like you to keep an eye on them," he said.

Logan nodded then walked out of the room.

Charles turned his chair to face the window. He looked down on the grounds, and saw Anna training her squad. He then took a closer look at three students in particular, three, who over the last month seemed rather inseparable. Almost… too close.

-A few hours later in Warren's room-

Warren sat on his bed toweling off his shoulder length blonde hair. He then stood up and stretched out his wings making sure they were dry. A small smirk came across his has, as he leapt towards the door and swiftly locked the door. He then walked to the center of the room, and fully extended his wings. He looked at each appendage with a widened smirk.

Then, something truly amazing happened. His wings began to shine with an almost metallic sheen. Soft pure white feathers slowly began transforming into hard cold chrome feathers.

Warren let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding then relaxed his new metallic wings into their resting position. The sound they made was akin to a sword being unsheathed.

"I think you should go by Archangel now," a very feminine voice came from behind him.

Warren quickly turned around to see Laura sitting on his windowsill.

"You really shouldn't transform here," she said with a smirk, "What are they made of?"

Warren's wings shifted back into their original form, "Organic Steel," he said running his hand through his hair.

Laura peeked an eyebrow, "Like Piotr?" Warren nodded in confirmation, "Why doesn't your healing factor, get rid of the upgrades?" she asked.

"Maybe you know who, is better than we gave him credit for," Warren said with a shrug.

A knock came at the door, "Warren, can ah speak to ya?" Anna's voice came from the other side of the door.

"Don't let her absorb you," Laura said in a whisper just before she leapt out of the window.

Warren then walked to the door and unlocked it.

Anna walked into the room and examined the resident angel, "Ah hate to bother ya with this," she spoke as she walked to the bed and sat on the edge, "Ah just can't talk to Kitty about it, and…" she paused for a moment, "Ah trust ya."

Warren smiled as he sat next to her, "You can always trust me, Anna," he said placing an arm around her shoulder, "Now, is the Quicksilver thing bothering you again?"

-Meanwhile at the Brotherhood Mansion-

Pietro sat on the edge of his bed wearing his uniform. The top half of his uniform was pulled down to reveal his lithe chest. Wanda sat behind him, wearing a sports bra and a pair of track pants. She rubbed his shoulders.

"Wanda?" Pietro asked barely above a whisper.

"Yes, Pietro?" she responded.

"You and I are friends right?" he asked in a more audible voice.

"Of course," she said, "Why? What's on your mind?"

"I'm still in love with her," he said, with a hint of shame in his voice.

Wanda began digging deeper into his shoulders, "She was your first true love, you never forget the person that was first in your heart," she said.

"Is… this how you feel about Jean?" he asked.

"Since the day I attacked her at the mall," Wanda said with a small smile on her face.

Pietro's head shot up, "You've been in love with Jean since then?" he asked, now facing her.

Wanda shook her head, "It was a school girl crush… that evolved into what I feel for her now," she explained.

Pietro got to his feet and stretched, "I promise to help you find her," he said as she walked to the door, and out into the hall.

Wanda turned to an open door on her right, "Did you find her?" Wanda asked.

"I don't quite understand why we don't help the X-Men," Karima said, leaning against the door frame.

Wanda simply stared at her, visibly pressing for an answer.

Karima sighed, "My sensors can't find her. I've flown over the city," she paused for a moment, "There are mutants in the mansion, our house, and under the streets, but none of them even resemble Jean."

Wanda stood up, "Thanks for your help," she said then walked out of the room. She turned to the right and headed down the hall, towards her room.

"What do we do now Sheila?" St. John asked as they continued their journey.

Wanda paused in front of a door and walked in, "I'm going to keep my promise to you."

-Meanwhile downstairs-

Lance walked through the front door and looked up at the stairs. He glared at the stairs for a few moments before he began coughing.

At that moment Todd and Freddy walked into the room.

"You don't look so good," Todd said as he hopped to Lance's side.

"Want us to make you some soup?" Freddy asked him with a smile.

Lance shook his head, "I'm just gonna go to bed and pass out for a few hours," he said as he began a long and perilous journey to the bedroom he shared with the woman he loved.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Todd asked.

"Oh yeah," Freddy said with a nod.


	2. Lance is Sick?

-The very next morning at the Brotherhood Mansion-

Regan hummed softly to herself as she ascended the main stairwell. When she got to the flat she walked to two massive double doors and paused.

Regan gently knocked, "Raven, where do we keep the cough syrup?" she asked with a small smile.

"Cough syrup?" Raven asked through the doors.

"Yes, Lance is sick," Regan responded.

But, before Regan could ever know what was going on the huge doors were thrown open to reveal a very vexed Raven.

"Lance is sick?" Raven asked in a panic, "Did you lock the doors? Bar the windows?" Raven asked, with her hands gripping Regan's shoulders.

Regan looked at the woman as if she were insane, "What? Why?" she asked with caution.

Raven then darted to her right and down the hall, "Wanda!" she exclaimed as she banged on the door, "Wake up! Lance is sick!"

The door immediately flew open, "Oh dear Odin!" she shrieked in horror.

"We're all gonna Doihe!" St. John quickly added.

Regan looked at both women, "What's the big deal?" she asked as calmly as the situation would allow, "Lance is sick, he just needs some rest."

Karima soon joined the group of women, "Why is everyone screaming?" she asked rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"Lance is sick!" Raven exclaimed once more.

Raven and Wanda quickly made their way down the stairs. They were soon followed by Karima and Regan.

"I've been living with you people for what seems like an eternity," Regan said as they rushed into the living room, "Now I demand you tell me what's going on!" she said forcefully.

Raven looked at the two clueless women and sighed, "Sit down, you both need to hear this," the three women sat on various pieces of furniture, "The boys are idiots," she said with an exhaled breath.

Regan sighed, "Yes we know that, but what does that have to do with Lance being sick?" she asked in an annoyed tone.

Raven sat down on the couch, and stared at the women across from her, "We all know that the boys get into trouble, more trouble than any other group of people would ever be able to get into in twelve lifetimes…" she paused for moment, "But Lance is the one who… he can… I don't know how to explain it…" she trailed off.

"It's like he…" Wanda tried to finish but couldn't, a blank stare simply came over her face.

St. John cackled, "He's the voice of reason, Sheila!" he exclaimed with a big toothy grin.

"What!" Karima and Regan exclaimed as they leapt off of the couch.

"The reason they get into so much trouble is because of Pietro, Todd, or that imbecile living inside her head," she explained pointing a thumb at Wanda, "But! The reason they don't get into the exponential amount of trouble they are potentially capable of is because of Lance."

Regan eyed the shape-shifter for a moment, "So what you're saying is…"

Raven nodded, "Unless we find them, we're all doomed," she said with an uneasy smile.

Regan shook her head, "I still don't see what the big deal is," she said crossing her arms.

Wanda sighed, "Let me put it this way, the last time Lance was sick," she took a deep breathe before continuing, "They stole Pandas from the zoo, and then sold them to restaurants."

Regan stared at the resident witch for a moment, "You have got to be kidding me," she said in total disbelief.

"That's idiotic, immoral, and illegal on countless levels," Karima said sliding back onto the couch.

Raven chuckled uneasily, "The Boys' three favorite 'I's," she said.

"That's not even the worst part," Wanda said as her face began to pale.

"What could possibly be worse than selling an endangered species to a restaurant?" Regan asked wondering what kind of 'family' she had married into.

Wanda swallowed a hard lump in her throat, "They brought home take out," she said.

"You… you ate a," Karima couldn't finish her sentence. It was all just too shocking for the young cybernetic woman.

Wanda nodded.

"It was so tasty, Sheila!" St. John exclaimed, "So succulent, and tender," a small trail of drool escaped his mouth, "Best meat oih've ever eaten."

Wanda wiped her lip, "So now do you understand why we have to find those idiots before they wipe tigers off the map?" she asked.

Raven leapt to her feet, "We need to check out places they like to hang out, I'll check the gas station and the alley behind the gas station; Regan you check the burger shack then the alley behind the burger shack; Wanda you check that mutant bar then the alley behind the bar; Karima you check the X-Pool, the X-Garage, the X-girl's dormitory, and anything else you can think of that starts with 'X'," Raven looked at the girls, "Well get going!" she exclaimed as she watched the girls run out of the house.

-Meanwhile at St. Joseph's Memorial Hospital-

Edna McCoy's bouncing baby boy, Hank 'Beast' McCoy, walked side by side with Scott Summers. They ventured into the lobby and began stood in front of a receptionist's desk.

"Excuse me young lady I was wondering if I could speak to the head doctor," Hank said with a rather feral smile.

The young green-haired woman sitting at the desk spun around to face the two mutants, and wasn't surprised in the least to see Hank's appearance, which thoroughly shocked both men.

She spun back around and picked up a phone, "Doctor?" she asked, "Would you come down, you have visitors."

Scott leaned in to speak, "She looks familiar," he paused, "But Lorna is with Magneto."

Hank nodded, "After we've checked for any Jane Does, I'll be sure to search for the young woman," he said not paying attention to the green-haired woman in front of him.

She cleared her throat finally gaining their attention, "The doctor will be here soon," she said in an annoyed tone.

"Do you really think she could be here?" Scott asked barely above a whisper.

Hank shrugged, "If she was and we did not check, I think we would feel worse is she wasn't," he explained.

"Well if it isn't Dr. McCoy, how've you been old friend?" the words came out in such a sarcastic way even the patients could tell these men hated each other.

Hank turned around slowly his eyes taking on a feral glare, "Essex," was the only thing he said before he leapt at the doctor pinning him against the wall, his hand wrapped around his throat, "You have the audacity to practice medicine in this town? I know you have her," he said with a growl.

The doctor's skin paled considerably, but not out of fright, his light green scrubs turned into a dark blue body suit, "I suggest that you release me Beast," Sinister smirked, "Unless you wish to lose a comrade."

Hank turned around to see a well toned man wearing light green scrubs and holding a gun he had never before seen pointed at Scott's head, "You'll back away from the doctor now, I built this gun with a hair trigger," Scalphunter said in pride.

Ruby optic energy began radiating around Scott's visor, "I don't think any of you are in a position to be making threats," Scott said as a warning.

The green-haired girl got out of her chair and walked over to the auburn haired teen, "Can I play with him before you kill him?" she asked with a playful smirk.

Hank let out a low growl, "Scott, these walls appear to be reinforced," he said with a knowing smirk.

Scott nodded, then balled his left fist, which cause the spring mechanism in his visor to open for an instant sending two concentrated optic beams towards the wall. They ricocheted off the wall and each found their mark, one hit Vertigo in the chest and the other hit Scalphunter in the hand thoroughly shattering the bones in his trigger and index finger.

Sinister smirked, "Impressive display of control and power," he then became serious, "But your Jean is not here." Just as he finished his sentence Remy suddenly arrived with Martinique.

"We're leaving," Hank growled out.

As the two mutants walked out of the hospital and across the parking lot, Scott could only hang his head in shame, as he thought that he had failed his oldest and dearest friend.

"Don't look so glum, Scott," Hank said with a smile, "Essex overplayed his hand."

"What do you mean?' Scott asked in confusion.

Suddenly Hank became more serious, "We never said Jean was missing."

-Meanwhile inside the Lobby-

Sinister survived the damage done to his walls and minions.

Remy walked up to the pale man, "So what we gonna do now?" he asked as if he already knew the answer.

"You and your Marauders will attack them of course, while Scalphunter and his group protect the on going experiment here," a feminine voice said from a dark hall way.

Remy shook his head, "I don' like dis chere, you show up an' all of a sudden you in charge of de Marauders?" he asked his eyes flashing purple for a moment, "I t'ink dat you need to be kept on a shorter leash."

"And you think you can put me on that leash?" the owner of the voice stepped out from the darkness. There she stood Jean Grey, The Phoenix, wearing tight black full body armor.

Remy's hands began to glow purple matching his eyes, "I can, and he will if need be," he said in a low voice.

Sinister smirked, finally deciding to step in between them, "Now, now children. Once this experiment is over everyone gets what they want," he said in an all too pleased tone, "Gambit you will get your freedom, and Phoenix you will get what was taken from you."


	3. A Rogue Plea

-Several hours later at the Brotherhood Mansion-

The front door to the mansion was quickly flung open allowing access to the four Brotherhood women. They walked into the house and continued their journey into the living room, where they promptly threw themselves onto various pieces of furniture.

Raven sat in the arm chair and slid down until her back was flat on the seat, "Any other ideas?" she questioned.

"None," Regan said in a defeated tone.

Suddenly, Lance walked into the room eating a banana, "I feel great," he looked at the women he shared a house with, "What's wrong with you guys?" he asked, concern apparent in his eyes.

Wanda glared at him, "You got sick, and now the boys are somewhere out there probably trying to take over a small country!" she exclaimed now short of breath.

Lance stared at them for a moment, "You know they've been upstairs all day right?" he asked in almost an innocent tone.

The Brotherhood women shot to their feet and immediately ran up the stairs, they then darted down the right hallway and to the end of the hall into the Brotherhood television room.

After literally screeching to a halt the esteemed women could see the three boys in question lounging on the Mighty Brotherhood Couch.

Raven peeked an eyebrow as she slowly walked in circles around the boys. She stopped as soon as she was in full view of all three boys, "Who did you beat up, steal from, or sell to?" she ask in an accusing tone.

"No one, we've been here all morning yo," Todd said with a shrug.

Freddy only nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, we heard you screaming from down the hall, and decided to let you run around all day and let Lance rest," Pietro said crossing his arms.

"I told you they were up here," Lance said as he walked into the room.

Raven eyed her boys suspiciously. She knew they were lying but couldn't quite prove it… yet. So she walked out of the room and signaled for the women to follow her.

Lance waited several seconds after their mother left before he turned to his brethren, "So what did you guys do last night?" he asked with a knowing grin.

Todd hopped onto the back of the couch, "Oh man it was awesome Lance," he said with a big toothy grin, "First we taped a couple of road flares to this digital alarm clock, and stuck it in this guys suitcase at the airport," he laughed, "So, then we started walking around like we were secret agents, and we tackled the guy, destroyed the 'bomb' and became heroes over night!" he exclaimed now holding his sides.

"What happened to the guy?" Lance asked with a smile.

"Prison, beating, firing squad? Who knows?" Todd waved his hand in the air.

-An hour or so later-

Pietro walked down the hall, a towel wrapped around his waist. His long silver bangs framed his face. When he got to his room, he threw open the door and in one graceful movement walked in and gently closed the door.

As he walked further into the room he threw the towel over his closet door and swiftly pulled on a pair of boxers. He then threw himself on his bed, letting his legs hang off the side, and placed his hands behind his head.

He stared at the ceiling for several seconds and sighed.

"You miss her don't you?"

Pietro looked up to see Karima standing at the door that joined their rooms.

In this particular mansion Pietro had the room in the corner and to his left was Karima's room, while to his right was the room that Wanda called home. In the middle master bedroom resided Raven, and on the far right of the mansion lived Lance, Regan, Todd and Freddy.

Pietro looked at the cybernetic woman for a moment then answered. "I don't know," he said returning his head to its original position.

She made her way to his bedside and sat down on the edge, "If you don't mind my asking, why don't you know?" she asked as she lied down.

Pietro scooted up until his head rested on her stomach, "Because I'm not afraid of tomorrow. I'm only scared of myself. Feels like my insides are on fire and I'm looking through the eyes of someone else," he explained uncharacteristically slowly.

Karima peeked an eyebrow and took a glance at him. He was completely serious.

"What do you mean?" she questioned, barely above a whisper.

It was as if some force of nature was present in the room as well.

Pietro's bangs mysteriously fell from the sides of his face to the top of his head, "Nothing, just a song I heard today," he said as he nuzzled against her flat stomach.

Karima's eyes flashed red, as she scanned his vitals. 'His heart rate is normal, well… for him. His temperature isn't spiking, although it is rather low. His brain waves on the other hand… are different,' she thought to herself.

"Pietro?" she asked.

He didn't say anything or move.

She paused for a moment then said one word, "Quicksilver."

Pietro's eyes opened and he sat up, but he remained silent.

"You're not Pietro are you?" she asked, her voice shaking with worry.

"I am, and I'm not," he said.

"Explain," she demanded.

"I'm Pietro's subconscious," he said as he turned to face the sentinel, "I know more about him than even he knows."

Karima furrowed her brow, "How is this even possible?" she asked.

"Pietro's been trying to please everyone his whole life," he explained, "His father, his mother, his sister, his friends, and his lovers."

"That still doesn't explain how you're here," she said in anger.

He chuckled, "He created me to please everyone," he said with a smirk, "I'm calm, cool, calculating, clever, and caring. Everything Pietro won't be on his own."

Karima examined him for moment, "You said, you know things Pietro doesn't," he nodded in confirmation, "What kinds of things?"

He lied back down, resting his head on her lap, "I know the true extent of his powers, I know who he really loves, I know what truly drives him," he said as he closed his eyes.

She stared at him for a moment longer, a question burning in the back of her mind.

"Go ahead ask," he said keeping his eyes closed.

Karima shook her head, "Is he insane?" she asked barely above a whisper.

"No," he answered, "I'll only be around, until he doesn't need me."

"When won't he need you?" she asked.

"What?"

She looked down into her lap and saw him staring back at her, "Nothing," she said with a small smile.

-Meanwhile across town on the hospital roof-

The day was rapidly succumbing to the night. A light chill was now filling the afternoon. There was a tiny trail of smoke in the air. It wisped and curved but led to the top of the roof, to a cigarette in the hand of a man leaning against the guardrail and down at the parking lot.

The man carried the stick between his middle and index finger as he brought it to his mouth. He took a short drag then removed it using his index finger and thumb.

"Why you up here?" the man asked seemingly to no one.

Jean then stepped out from the shadows. "What did Dr. Essex mean by freedom, Remy?" Jean asked walking towards the guardrail. She bent down and rested her arms on the rail and starred into the city.

Remy turned to face the roof, and leaned against the rail, "Why do you care?" he asked in a sarcastic tone.

Jean shrugged, "X-Men habits die hard," she said in a monotone voice.

Remy gave a soft chuckle, "My powers be too much for 'im. Sinister say he can give me control if he can do dis last job for 'im," Remy said now staring at his hands.

Jean nodded in understanding, "He said he can give me back what I've lost," she said in a whisper.

"De two boys, de twins?" Remy asked with a knowing nod.

Jean turned and looked at him in surprise, "Either that wizard was trained to suck at his job or he did this on purpose," she said in almost a defeated tone.

Remy shrugged, "You know, dey say you can' get back what you lost," he said as he flicked his cigarette to the ground.

Jean stomped it out, then looked Remy in his red on black eyes, "They also say you shouldn't be afraid of who you are," she said, now making her way back to the stairwell.

Remy watched as she walked down the stairwell and out of sight. He then looked down at the cigarette but. His eyes flashed purple and suddenly the butt exploded. Remy smiled and walked to the stairwell.

Remy pulled his trench coat tight, "Gonna be a bad night to be a good guy," he stated, a tiny hint of remorse apparent in his eyes.

-A few hours later in the Brotherhood dining room-

Raven sat at the head of the table, a fork in one hand and the city's budget plan in the other. She would occasionally look up at the people who occupied various rooms in her house. They were loud, rude, and scared of thunder, but they were her children. Children that she has known for a mere fraction of her long life, but children she would gladly trade her life for. It was as if some nurturing force inside of her had awakened and compelled her to protect this brood of misfits.

She smiled to herself as she watched them argue with each other over some trivial matter. That is until the front doors exploded off their hinges.

"Mama…" Anna's voice echoed through out the halls, "Ah need ya!"


	4. All So Wrong

-Meanwhile in the Danger Room-

Logan shot to his feet, unsheathing his claws in the process. He looked around frantically, taking a mental note of everyone's injuries, so that he may issue double to the culprits.

"Kitty, Kurt, and Piotr. Unconscious, blunt force trauma to the skull," he said through clenched teeth, "Everyone else bruised and bleedin'," he turned his attention to the doors, and leapt at them with a savage fury. His Adamantium claws left tiny scratch marks against the formidable doors, "Betrayed," he growled out, "Gonna gut all three of 'em."

Charles sat on the cold floor, "Ororo, how are the students?" he asked in worry.

Ororo sighed, "Morally defeated," she paused for a moment, "We've been betrayed Charles."

Charles nodded, "Who isn't accounted for?" he asked in a vain attempt to change the subject.

"Rogue, Cannonball, Iceman, Magma, X-23, and Angel!" Logan said with a feral growl finally realizing his attempts at freedom were futile.

Charles' eyes went wide in shock, "Rogue's entire squad betrayed us?"

Logan shook his head, "Magma, Angel, and X betrayed us, the others ran," he said the last part in a whisper.

"No!" Scott exclaimed clutching his eyes, "Anna, Bobby and Sam would never abandon us!"

Logan shook his head, "Da Costa, get over here and knock this door down," he said with more force than he intended.

Roberto got to his feet. As he walked to the massive double doors his skin became an ink like black, and his eyes and mouth began emitting a bright white light. He pulled back a fist and sent it flying at the door. "Owe!" he exclaimed clutching his injured right hand with his left. He then glared at the door and sent his left fist forward. It stopped just short of the door, but a blast of pure solar energy erupted from his fist and hit the door, doing little to no damage.

Charles sighed, "No one short of Piotr could break down that door," he said in a defeated tone.

Scott looked down, covering his eyes with his hand, "Why are you ignoring this?" he asked in frustration, "They're X-Men!" he exclaimed with pride, "We don't leave men behind."

Logan sat down against the door, "Nice try Slim. You might be X-Men but you're still kids."

"So what? We give up?" Scott asked in frustration.

Hank limped to the group, cradling his injured arm, "Not necessarily," he said with a smirk.

-The Brotherhood Mansion-

The Brotherhood rushed to the front door. Each member took a fighting position.

Anna walked through the hole into the foyer, Bobby cradled ever so gracefully upside down over her right shoulder, and Sam slung under her left arm.

"Gambit attacked us," Anna said trying to glare a hole through Raven.

"Anna?" Bobby questioned, "You know we can walk right?"

To answer his question, Anna simply released both boys and let them crash to the floor in an awkward heap.

"Thanks," Bobby gasped out, "Get your foot out of my eye," he said pushing Sam's leg off of his body.

Sam groaned in response.

Anna rolled her eyes, "Are ya gonna help us, or am ah gonna have to fahght Remy and his crew on mah own?"

Pietro stared the Southern Belle in the eyes, "Why should we help?" he asked crossing his arms.

Anna tilted her head forward, "They have Jean," she said looking past the speed demon.

Wanda muscled passed her associates, "How do you know?" she asked, not caring that desperation had slipped into her voice.

Anna sighed, "Ah absorbed that bimbo hangin' off'a Remy. They got her in that hospital," she said turning her back to the Brotherhood.

Todd hoped onto Freddy's shoulder, "So what do we do yo? Save Wanda's girlfriend, or save the X-Geeks?" he asked in a somewhat disgruntled tone.

Before Lance or Anna could direct their teams, Raven stepped forward gaining all of her children's attention, "We split into groups," she stated firmly, making it very clear her orders were not to be questioned, "Anna Marie," Anna turned to glare daggers at her mother, "Take Lance, Regan, Freddy, and the blonde boy with you. Free the X-Men, then come after us for reinforcement." Anna reluctantly nodded in confirmation, "The rest of you are with me, now go suit up!"

"I'll take care of that," Wanda said before even Pietro could dart up the stairs. She snapped her fingers and suddenly each member of the Brotherhood was in full uniform, "Now move your asses, I've got to save my love life."

The women moved forward but the Brotherhood Boys dropped to the floor, each member clutching his manhood.

Lance was the only one to speak, "Boxers... on backwards... last breath... curse Wanda…"

Wanda rolled her eyes, and snapped her fingers yet again, "Big baby!" she then made a few hand signs then Raven's squad was engulfed in a scarlet light and disappeared.

"I hate magic," Lance said as he slowly got to his feet, "Any bright ideas Anna?" he asked with his face contorted in annoyance.

Anna smirked, "Just one."

-Several seconds later at the Xavier Mansion-

Sam 'Cannonball' Guthrie barreled through the armored double doors, gaining entrance into the X-Mansion. Over the last year, Sam's control over his blast-field allowed him to emit its thermo-chemical energy out of any part of his body, instead of just his legs like when he had first showed up on the mansion doorsteps.

Sam hovered in the air, surveying his surroundings, "Too quahet for a war zone," he said moving his goggles to his forehead.

"I'm sure we can make you scream," Martinique said as she, and the other Marauders appeared out of thin air.

"Today ain't your lucky day is it Sammy?" Remy asked as he pulled a playing card out of his coat and charged it.

Before Remy could throw the card, the ground began to shake violently.

Lance rode atop a tidal wave of earth Regan holding onto his waist for support. Freddy then ran straight through the left side of the wall, just as Anna flew through the right.

Sam settled onto the ground and let his blast-field flare up, "Ah think ya needa get outta mah house 'fore ah decahde ta blast ya inta tha next tahme-zone."

-Meanwhile at St. Joseph's Memorial Hospital-

The Brotherhood members and Bobby appeared in the lobby following a scarlet light. Raven stepped forward and glanced to the right then left. Two hallways leading to the unknown separated them and unidentified danger.

Raven began walking down the hall to her left, "Robert, Todd, come along," was all she said before she was swallowed by the shadows.

Todd shrugged and hopped after her.

Bobby sighed, "Into the belly of the beast," he said as his body shifted into translucent ice.

Wanda grabbed Karima by the hand and Pietro by the left bang, "I guess we're going this way," she said leading them into the shadows.

"Watch the hair, watch the hair," Pietro exclaimed bending down trying to stifle some of the pain.

"Shut up," Wanda said sharply, "Now come on."

Karima tilted her head to the side, "How do you know which way to go? My scanner can't pick up any mutant signatures, present company excluded," she said quietly in an attempt to avoid Wanda's wraith.

"I can feel Jean at the end of this hallway," she said with a smirk.

-The left corridor-

Raven and Todd walked down the dark corridor until they came to a fork. They stopped and tried to read the sign to their right front.

Both Todd and Raven's eyes began to glow yellow, "If we go left we'll end up in the E.R," Todd said as he dropped into a crouch.

Raven nodded in agreement, "But if we go straight, we'll end up in the morgue," she said with a hint of disgust.

"Well look what we got here Scrambler," a voice called out from there left, "A couple of trespassers."

"I do believe you're right Prism," a second voice called out from in front of them.

Suddenly the lights kicked on to reveal a man made entirely of crystal and another man dressed in green scrubs.

"Any relation to you ice-pick?" Todd asked pointing to Prism, "Iceman?" he questioned looking around frantically for the iced covered teen, "He ditched us!"

Raven grabbed him by the shirt collar, "Calm down and fight!" she then picked him up and threw him at Prism.

The green teen collided with the man made of crystal at such a high speed that Todd didn't stop until he hit the far wall.

He slowly got to his feet, "Owe," he said as he felt his side, "What the hell?" he began pulling shards of crystal out of his side, "I'm gonna feel that in the morning."

Suddenly Scrambler began laughing hysterically, "I can't believe you got taken out by accident!" he exclaimed clutching his pained side in laughter.

Todd and Raven turned to Prism, but he wasn't there.

"Yeah, yeah! Laugh it up you rat bastard!" Prism exclaimed from the floor, "You know how long it's going to take me to re-grow my legs?"

Todd began snickering upon seeing Prism lying on the ground, missing both arms, and everything below his pectorals. Apparently crystal isn't strong enough to with stand the Terrible Toad in flight.

Raven let out a laugh that quickly turned into a gasp, suddenly she very felt weak.

Then to Todd's horror, part of her face began losing her natural blue tint. Her skin tone began blotching. Some sections stayed their natural healthy blue color; while some spots turned a pinkish… flesh like tone. Her long bright red hair began growing jet black streaks. It was as if, she were becoming human. As if to cap everything off, her left eye shifted from its natural yellow color to a pure blue.

"Bet you feel all scrambled," Scrambler said tightening his grip on Raven's arm, "What are you gonna do without your powers?"


	5. Her Lover's Oath

-In the Danger Room-

Logan stared at the events taking place in front of him with a mild curiosity. Scott stood in front of the doors, his hands over his eyes, while Roberto stood, in his corona form, a few feet behind him, his arms fully extended aimed at Scott. Ororo was then hovering several feet above the ground, with electricity cracking along her arms.

"You sure this is gonna work, Hank?" Logan asked with a bewildered look on his face.

"Honestly," Hank smiled, "I haven't the faintest idea," the gathered mutants all sighed, "But theoretically it should work. Mr. Da Costa expels concentrated solar energy from his hands, which Mr. Summers uses as the basic energy to fuel his optic blast. I've also theorized that Mr. Summers can absorb other forms of energy but to varying degrees," Hank explained still rubbing his injured arm.

"And to test this theory you want me to fire lightning at him?" Ororo asked not entirely sure Hank hadn't suffered some head trauma.

Scott balled up his fists, "Let's just do this, Anna and the others need our help," he said sternly.

Logan simply rolled his eyes.

Roberto proceeded to shoot Scott in the back with every last bit of energy he could muster but he'd been cut off from the suns rays for too long. He quickly slumped to the floor in exhaustion, reverting back to his human form.

Scott removed his fists from his eyes and opened them. The optic blast that erupted forth was far more powerful than the one he had used on the Juggernaut.

Hank smiled, "Now Ororo!" he exclaimed.

Ororo pointed her index finger at the teen and closed her eyes. She could feel the lightning build up in her body, until it finally exploded from the digit and found its mark in Scott's back.

Scott groaned at the pain, but what happened next thoroughly shocked the rest of the mutants.

His optic blast became pure white. It then became so intense that looking directly at it would certainly cause massive headaches and damage to retinas.

The double doors erupted with a massive cloud of smoke, just as Scott slumped to the floor entirely drained of energy, for he too has been denied the sun's rays for far too long.

The smoke slowly cleared, as the X-Men's hopes began to rise. Slowly shards of twisted metal began to take shape, the boy had done. He destroyed a door that not only stopped a mutant who can harness the power of the sun, but at one point also stopped the Immovable Blob.

Logan stepped passed the scrap but his progress was quickly stopped as he ran into a new obstacle, "They found the switch for the blast doors," Logan said slamming his fists against the door.

"What do we do know?" Ororo asked slightly depressed.

"We wait," Charles said crossing his arms.

-Meanwhile…-

Heavy eye lids slowly opened. Upon exposure to the sun's relentless rays, they were quickly shut. Very soft feminine lips met tired lips, in a slow kiss.

"Morning, sleepy," a feminine voice said softly.

The heavy eye lids opened once more to be greeted by a tanned goddess, "G'mornin', lover," a male voice responded.

The woman smiled as she slid on top of him, resting her head on his chest, "What are we going to do today, Sam?" she asked in a sultry tone.

Sam pulled one arm behind his head, and his other hand went to stroke her hair, "Well… it is our honeymoon…" he trailed off, a smile ever present on his mouth, "Ah love ya, Martinique," he whispered into her ear.

-In the X-Mansion Living Room-

Samuel 'Cannonball' Guthrie, lay in an unconscious heap on the floor, while Martinique stood triumphantly over him.

Regan fought against the far stronger Phillipa. She would dodge savage haymakers, then run in with several jabs and finish with a swift kick to the midsection.

"A telepath?" Phillipa asked, "Why would he want a telepath, when the two of us could shake the entire world!" she punctuated her point by send a tidal wave of broken floor boards and the couch at her.

Regan expertly dodged the onslaught, and upon regaining her footing her eyes began glowing a familiar white. She reached out with her mind and tried to plant her illusions in the other woman's mind, but to her astonishment it didn't work.

"Sinister's given us psi-shields, no telepath on Earth can get past them," she said with a smirk.

Freddy had been forced outside onto the lawn, his arms up shielding his face from the various projectiles impacting his unbreakable skin… well almost unbreakable, "Owe!" Freddy exclaimed now clutching his arm in pain.

Janos stopped spinning, three throwing knives in his hand, "Sinister, said you're supposed to be the most durable mutant on this planet," he said with a hint of disappointment, "Well at least you lasted longer than that metal plated guy."

Freddy glared at the smaller man, outside the Brotherhood Freddy had but one friend, and that friend was Piotr. Freddy swatted at Janos in an attempt to silence the verbal assault, but the white haired mutant remained just out of reach.

Lance was releasing a steady tremor from his body, just enough to keep Kodiak off balance. Because of the constant motion, Lance's equilibrium has been pushed to a superhuman degree.

Kodiak would try to throw a harpoon at him, but he couldn't compensate for the random movements of the tremor.

Yet, on the other hand, when Lance would try to throw rocks and dirt at him, Kodiak would disintegrate it with a blast from his harpoon.

Lance grabbed a steel rod and held it with both hands. He then dashed towards the man who was roughly equal in size to our hero. He brought the rod down but Kodiak blocked it with one of his harpoons. There were no expert samurai skills in Lance's assault. It was just a thug with a blunt object trying to inflict pain against another individual, and Lance couldn't be happier.

Anna was breathing hard, harder than she's ever breathed since acquiring her new powers. She would punch and kick, but nothing she did seemed to do any damage against her opponent. It was as if he were thriving off her assault.

"Sorry chere, he got a lot ridin' on dis job," Remy said with hurt in his eyes, "Cause ole Remy, gettin' real tired of not bein' in control," as he spoke his hands and eyes began glowing with a familiar purple kinetic energy.

-Meanwhile at the Hospital-

Raven managed to wrench her arm free of Scrambler's grasp.

Scrambler began laughing, "What're you gonna do? You don't have any powers. Your kid is bleeding out, and it's all your fault!" he exclaimed between laughs.

Raven balled her fists and leapt at him with a high kick, her heel fractured his sternum as his back made contact with the wall, then he caught her elbow with his eye, and to finish matters off she punched him in the throat with every once of power her weakened body could muster.

Prism lied on the floor in complete shock, "You… you killed him…" he said in disbelief, "X-Men don't kill people. X-Men don't kill people!" he exclaimed from the floor.

Raven sighed as she pulled a 9mm out of a holster on the small of her back, "We're not X-Men," she said as she aimed at his head and fired, thoroughly destroying Prism's plans of regenerating himself.

Todd clutched his side in pain, "Something tells me that ain't the first time you've done that," he said with one eye closed.

Raven removed his shirt and ripped her dress into strips, "I've done far worse for your safety," she then began wrapping his torso.

Until, she heard the all too familiar sound of a gun being cocked, "You killed two of my teammates," Scalphunter said, as Raven turned around to meet the barrel of his gun, "Lucky for us we got two members of the Brotherhood to off right now," as he finished his statement he shoved the barrel into Raven's mouth.

She tried to talk around it but the words were inaudible.

"What you say darlin'?" Scalphunter asked as he removed it from her mouth.

-Meanwhile, with Wanda's group-

Wanda and her team had walked passed many doors, and she had never stopped or turned her head at any of them, until she got to one in particular. It said nursery in large bold letters.

"She's in here," Wanda said placing her hand on the door.

"How do you know?" Karima said grabbing the other woman's shoulder.

"She's in my head," Wanda replied.

"And its getting koihnda crowded in here," St. John said as he threw the door open.

All three teens walked into the nursery, it was relatively quiet except for a constant creaking.

"Notice anything weird?" Pietro asked as the women looked around.

"What kind of nursery has no babies?" Karima asked in confusion.

"The kind that never had any to begin with," a voice called out from the darkness as the creaking stopped.

"Jean?" Wanda asked, "Are you in here?"

The lights suddenly turned on, blinding our heroes.

"I'm here Wanda, but something's missing…" Jean trailed off.

As their vision began to focus they could see the walls of the room with a great deal of shock.

"What the hell are those?" Pietro asked in disgust.

Six liquid filled tubes lined the walls, two to their right, two to their left, and two on the far wall behind Jean. As if that weren't freaky enough each tube also held a member of the Brotherhood. Lance, St. John, Freddy, Pietro, Wanda, Todd, the core members of the Brotherhood were all there.

Pietro balled his fists in anger, "He stole our identities with clones!" he exclaimed in a righteous fury. He then took a deep breath, "Karima, you take the three on the left, and I'll take the three on the right. We won't give them a chance," he said calmly.

Karima immediately noticed the shift in personality, but readied her plasma cannon none the less.

That is, until a voice stopped them.

"Wait! This could be my chance!"


	6. Alive

"What're you talkin' about Sheila?" St. John asked in confusion.

Wanda took a step forward, "Jean, help me save John. Please?" she asked with eyes so pleading, Jean's heart would have broken, if she were anything less than the Phoenix.

Jean sighed then turned to St. John's clone, "Wanda," she spoke barely above a whisper, "Hurry."

Wanda smiled as she took several steps forward. Her hands began to swirl with her purple hybrid magic, she concentrated until her mouth and eyes began to glow pure white.

Jean walked behind Wanda and placed her hands around Wanda's head. Her eyes, too, began glowing white.

After a few more seconds of concentration, a ghostly image shot out of Wanda's body and into the body of the clone.

Quicksilver shook his head as he walked over to his clone's canister. He placed both hands on the glass, his arms started to shake violently.

To Karima's surprise the glass exploded, leaving the clone exposed to the harsh outside world. The machines it was still attached too began screeching as the clone slowly started to wither away into nothing.

Jean watched the clone die, with a mild curiosity.

Quicksilver quickly darted around the room destroying each clone. Upon finishing his mission he clapped the dust off of his hands, "Done and done," he said with a smirk.

"He needed you to do that?" Karima whispered into his ear.

Quicksilver shrugged, "No, I wanted to do that personally," he said crossing his arms over his chest.

"John?" a voice asked from behind the group.

"'Mara?" St. John smiled, groping his own chest, "Bloody… oih'm still in Wanda's body!"

There in the doorway stood Xavier's rogue teens, Warren, Laura, and Amara.

"Wait… what?" Jean asked in confusion, "We transferred the wrong soul!" Jean grabbed St. John's hand and placed it on his clone's tube, "You concentrate," she ordered their eyes began to glow in unison with the clones. This time two souls emerged and went into the correct bodies, "Wanda?" Jean asked holding her body close.

"You have pretty eyes," Wanda said with a soft smile.

Jean breathed heavily, "We've got to do this slowly and carefully, or St. John's body could disintegrate."

Wanda nodded in agreement and both women went to St. John's capsule to try and rescue him.

Amara rushed to the tube that held the love of her life, "John? Is that really you in there?" she asked hope ever present in her eyes.

As if to answer her, St. John's eyes slowly opened.

"John, the only reason I ever joined Sinister was to get you back," she explained but was soon blasted to the floor.

"It appears that you've all outlived your usefulness," Sinister said as he walked into the room.

-The X-Mansion-

Anna's ungloved hand shot forward grasping Remy's face. She had a triumphant look on her face, and rightfully so, when she used her mutant powers on someone there was a high chance the fight was over.

"Not gonna work Chere," Remy said grabbing her wrist and freeing himself.

Anna stared at him in shock, "But… ah've absorbed ya before," she said reaching out with her other hand.

"I let you. I can control all kinetic energy, chere. I be an omega," he punctuated his statement by firing a blast of purple kinetic energy into the air.

She simply stared at him in shock.

"No strength, Chere?" he asked, "I charge the parts of your brain dat let you use your borrowed powers," he gently touched the side of her face as he spoke, "How's it feel to finally touch someone you love?"

"Ah don't love ya," Anna looked at him defiantly, "Ah love Pietro."

Lance blocked a harpoon shot, slowly analyzing his surroundings. He pushed Kodiak away from him and sent a slightly more powerful tremor towards him to knock him off his feet. "Regan take out your sister! We need Cannonball! Freddy, quit holding back and show me a special!" he exclaimed as Kodiak came back at him.

Regan side stepped Phillipa's punch and, using her own momentum against her, promptly threw her at Martinique, ruining her concentration and, coincidentally, her manicure.

Sam slowly got to his knees, his back facing Martinique, "We were married?" he asked.

Martinique pushed Phillipa off her body, "No you idiot, it was all an illusion," she said getting to her feet.

Sam nodded then pulled his goggles down to cover his eyes, "All ah needed ta know," his blast-field came on with a powerful explosion, he grabbed Martinique and Phillipa and began slamming them into and through sturdy, reinforced objects and finally into the front lawn of the mansion.

Regan rushed to the crater, "Samuel, what happened to you?" she asked in worry.

Sam walked out of the large smoking crater, "I'm… I got married," he said with a frown.

Regan took a step back, "Are you all right? My sister's powers shouldn't be taken lightly," she said her eyes never leaving Sam's eyes.

"Not hardly," he said balling his fists, "Just… point me at someone to Cannonball."

Freddy leapt forward just short of landing on Janos, "He wants a special?" Freddy threw out his arms, "He's got one!" he then clapped them together with such force that Janos was thrown back several feet.

Janos landed on his back clutching his ears, "Ah!" he screamed out in pain, blood dripping from his ears.

Lance deflected a harpoon shot and quickly delivered a right cross, followed by a knee to the gut and finished of by a head butt, "Take a lot more than a third rate jackass with a big fork to take me down," Lance said as he buried Kodiak in a thick layer of Earth.

Freddy ran to Lance's side, "What do we do now Lance?" he asked placing a hand on his leader's shoulder.

Lance sighed, "We regroup and take out Gambit," he said as Regan and Sam joined them.

Upon Lance finishing his statement, Remy took to the air engulfed in his purple kinetic energy.

Lance sighed yet again, "This is where Todd would say something like, 'Why can't this ever be easy?' and then I'd say, 'cause we're the Brotherhood and nothing's ever easy for us.'"

"But we wouldn't have it any other way," Freddy said with a smile.

Lance chuckled, "Got that right!" he exclaimed as he led his troops to battle.

-Meanwhile at the hospital-

Scalphunter stood above Raven, his gun dangerously close to her mouth. Vertigo and Blockbuster stood right behind him, and Todd lay on the floor still clutching his side.

"Go ahead darlin', what cha say?" he asked with a smirk, that is until he noticed that he could see his breath. He tried to pull the trigger, but the hammer was frozen in place. There was also a thin sheet of ice covering each of the villains.

Blockbuster tried to break through the ice, but it proved too much for even his great strength.

Vertigo released her mental power and the walls, ceiling, floor, and limited light began to swirl around for a few seconds, until she too succumb to the cold.

"That musta been the longest wiz in history!" Bobby exclaimed as he walked into the hall adjusting his black shorts, they had a large red x on both legs, and they were held up by a gold buckled X-Men belt.

Todd shot to his feet, but doubled over in pain, "You were peeing while we were about to die!" he exclaimed staring at Bobby's legs.

Raven got to her feet as well, and then shot all three Marauders, ending their villainous lives, "Let's move," she said glaring at both teens.

"Did she just?" Bobby asked in shock.

Todd nodded, "Yeah… she did," he said in a whisper.

"Come on," She said, allowing Todd to hop onto her back, so she may carry him to safety, "Asked for you, feel free to turn on the heat at any moment."

"Right," Bobby nodded as he reverted to his flesh and blood form.

-Meanwhile in the Nursery-

Warren stood his ground in front of Sinister, his wings shifted into their metallic form. He flapped his wings sending a barrage of metallic feathers towards Sinister.

Sinister simply smirked as the feathers impaled him. Each wound quickly and completely healed over, "I had such high hopes for you," he said as he pulled a plunger switch from his belt. He pushed the plunger and Warren fell to the ground.

Warren's wings began to rust over, "What's… happening to me?" he asked in pain.

Sinister gestured for the remaining occupants to come forward, "Next victim?" he asked with a furrowed brow.

Pietro and Laura leapt into action, each one slashing, kicking and punching to their heart's content.

But, with a flick of his wrist, they were both thrown back into the far wall. Sinister laughed.

Before Karima could take to the air, Jean grabbed her arm, "You're the technology expert right?" Karima nodded, "Good, help Wanda save Pyro," she ordered.

It was now Karima's turn to stop Jean, "Save Pietro, he's not well," she said with pleading eyes.

Pietro sped forward and landed a solid punch on Sinister's torso, "It won't work twice Mr. Maximoff. I've adapted since our last fight," he grabbed Pietro by the shoulders and picked him up; "You don't even understand those powers do you? Muscle expansion?" he laughed as he spoke, "Try molecular destabilization on for size." He then threw Pietro at Laura, causing the two teens to fly across the room and impaling them on a broken pipe.

"Sinister," Jean spoke the name like a curse, "I will not allow you to harm, my love or her friends," her eyes began to glow yellow, while her arms were set a blaze, "Phoenix will destroy you!"

"Phoenix?" he questioned with a chuckle, "You may posses the raw power of an omega, but I've been training in the use of my powers for over a century."

They started off their fight by reaching out with their minds.

Pietro and Laura slowly pulled themselves off of the pipe, "What the hell's happening?" Pietro questioned wincing as he held his wound.

Wanda threw a quick glance over her shoulder, "Jean's fighting Sinister on the Astral Plane."


	7. Falling Apart

-The Astral Plane-

The Astral Plane, there is no up, no down. It's as if you're in the far reaches of space. There is nothing. There is no one. Unless… a powerful psychic wills it.

Sinister flew through the air as fast as he possibly could, he would occasionally have to dodge small psychic spikes, and the ever more dangerous psychic orbs.

Jean flew behind the man, slowly gaining up on him, but Sinister quickly turned to face her. They fired several orbs and spikes at each other, most finding their mark.

A massive concrete slab appeared and Sinister floated down to it. As his feet made contact, a massive psychic spike came hurdling towards him. He expertly dodged it and shot several smaller spikes of his own.

One spike impaled Jean, she collapsed onto the stone.

"I told you girl, you can't substitute power for experience," Sinister said with a smirk.

Jean slowly started rising into the air, "Not even if its overwhelming power?" she asked as the Phoenix Raptor appeared behind her.

The strips that comprised Sinister's cape suddenly gained a life of their own and darted out to ensnare Jean, "If you were my student I would have taught you tactics by now," he said with a smug smile.

Jean's eyes began glowing yellow. The Raptor's claws extended and sliced the tendrils into fine shreds. Upon gaining her freedom, Jean became one with the Raptor, and charged towards Sinister, incinerating him with her flame.

-The Nursery-

"Wanda, Karima we've got to go," Pietro said clutching his stomach as fresh red blood began dripping from it, "Lance and the others are getting their asses handed to them."

Wanda stared at her brother for a moment and pulled him down until he was on his knees, "You can't… even stand up right… and I can't catch… my breath," she explained in slow long gasps.

Laura walked toward the twins, her wounds closing as quickly as they had been inflicted; "What should we do then?" she threw herself against the wall and slid down to the ground.

Karima continued to work on the console, "I've almost finished," she said in a tired tone, "I can keep him alive until we get home, but we have to keep him on life support for at the very least, another week," she scooped St. John into her arms, several of her circuits placed on his body, "But we have to hurry."

Sinister's body slammed against the wall, various places of his body bleeding profusely.

Jean slowly floated to the ground her fiery psychic aura dissipating. Jean closed the gap between herself and the beaten villain, then actually picked Sinister up from the ground and slammed him against the wall, "You have a debt to settle," she said, her eyes flaring up.

Sinister smirked and nodded, "I do," he pulled a second plunger switch from his belt, and then pushed the plunger.

-The X-Mansion-

Remy hovered several feet above the ground, the five mutants who stood in his way, in varying degrees of pain.

"Why can' you just stay down homme?" he asked with pain in his eyes.

Lance got to his feet, "I… don't know how…" he said with labored breaths.

Remy shrugged as a massive amount of purple kinetic energy began swirling around him, "Sorry mon ami, but I got to finish dis…" he froze in mid-air for a moment, then clutched his head and let out a scream of pain. The gathered energy dissipated as he plummeted to the ground.

Lance and the others slowly made their way to the Cajun, everyone prepared to restart their fight, but he was out cold, bleeding from his mouth and nose.

Lance then collapsed to the ground in a sitting position, "Everyone still alive?" he asked, and was quickly answered by several grunts.

-The Nursery-

Jean reached out with her mind and touched everyone involved in the current battle, Brotherhood and X-Men.

When she pulled her mind back, she slammed Sinister into the wall again, "You settled your debt to Gambit, but what about me? Where are my children?" she asked as the Phoenix Raptor appeared behind her.

Sinister laughed, "Stupid girl, I never promised to replace your children," he said, his strength waning rapidly.

Tears began forming in Jean's eyes, as her fists were lit ablaze, "Then what did you mean by what I've lost?" she asked her voice cracking slightly.

Sinister smirked, "I restored your relationship with the witch," he said as she promptly dropped him to the floor, "She's here now, a little worse for ware, but here for you none the less, they all are."

Jean quickly turned around, to see Wanda sitting against the wall, her brother leaning against her, and her hand on his stomach trying to slow his bleeding. She then saw Laura sitting next to her drenched in her own blood, Amara on the floor unconscious, and Warren at her feet, struggling to get to his feet, "I caused all of this…" she said in disbelief.

"You were the one person that could have stopped me from the beginning," Sinister said, his wounds finally beginning to heal, "Imagine my surprise when you showed up on my doorstep."

Jean shook her head, "I've betrayed my family, my friends… Wanda," tears flowed freely down her cheeks.

Wanda reached out with her free hand, "Jean… It's okay… I'm still here," she said with a faint smile.

Jean shook her head, "No, I was so bent on getting our children back, I couldn't see you… standing in front of me, with open arms." She turned her back on Wanda and in a fiery burst of light disappeared from the room.

Pietro looked around the room, "Sinister escaped too," he said in a groan.

"We should leave," Karima said as she got to her feet.

Laura stood up and let Pietro put his weight on her, while Warren picked Amara up and began walking her out.

Wanda got to her feet, but stayed in the room for just a moment longer.

-Several hours later at the Brotherhood Mansion, St. John's room-

St. John was attached to every life support machine imaginable, fresh air being pumped into his lungs, and the proper amount of nutrition flowing into his veins. He lay in the dark, but he was not alone.

Raven sat next to him, her skin slowly returning to its natural blue. Her head resting on his shoulder she would tell him stories, like a mother would tell her son at bed time.

The Brotherhood had changed her, and she liked it.

"Mystique?" Lance questioned from the door, "Everyone's pretty banged up, but we'll survive," Lance chuckled, "We're really good at that."

Raven picked her head up to look at the leader of her children, "Lance, I…"

"How is he?" he asked in an attempt to stifle the awkward situation.

Raven looked down at her son, "He has no hair, zero muscle mass, and… he's back," she smiled, "Lance, I thought I lost my son forever."

"I know. We all thought we lost part of the family," he said in a comforting tone.

She looked back at him, "You should go to bed, you all have school in the morning," she said with her classic authoritative tone.

Lance smirked, "Sure thing Boss-lady," he said as he walked back into the hall.

She stood up and walked towards the door, but before she left she took one last look at St. John, "I'm glad to have you back… son."

-Pietro's room-

Karima sat against the headboard of Pietro's bed. Pietro nestled into her lap his arms wrapped around her waist. She would occasionally run her fingers through his hair, which would cause him to smile in his sleep. His stomach and back were heavily bandaged, but not because of the blood, Wanda had placed medicinal herbs on the wound, which aided his healing factor's ability and all but closed the wounds. The bandages were only there to keep the herbs in place.

Wanda walked into the room and sat against the headboard next to the sentinel, "How long has he been like that?" she asked staring at her brother.

Karima ran her fingers through his hair once more, "Just an hour or so," she spoke in a whisper, "Can you find her?"

Wanda shook her head, "She cut me off, but I got one last look in her mind," she paused for moment, "She's not stable, and with her power it could be a lethal situation," Wanda explained smiling at the irony.

Lightning flashed through the window, followed by several droplets of water impacting the glass.

Karima looked down at the sleeping Pietro in her lap, "Not even the rain can disturb him now."

-The X-Mansion Foyer-

Anna sat on the couch between Bobby and Sam. She looked to either side of her and noticed they were both in turmoil.

"I'm fine," they said in unison.

She shrugged in response.

"Whah do we have ta treat tha Cajun?" Sam asked.

"Hank said whatever Sinister put in his head, frahed sections of his brain. So he ain't an omega no more," she explained in a cold emotionless tone.

"I shoulda been here, I could've taken him," Bobby said throwing his head back.

"We can't always relah on your power to bail us out of everything we get ourselves into," Anna said throwing her head back as well.

"Good thing we're all invulnerable then," Sam said with a snort, as he too threw his head back.

Logan ran through the foyer, "That damn Cajun escaped," he said with a growl.

Piotr caught up to him, "But he lost so much blood," a hint of worry betrayed his hardened exterior.

-The streets of Bayville-

A lone figure walked down the abandoned streets of Bayville. The figure pulled at his trench coat as the rain began to fall from the sky. The figure then shoved both gloved hands into his coat pockets.

"Fin'ly. I knew if I wore dis trench coat long enough… it'd event'ly come in handy," the figure said, his eyes glowing a familiar purple.


	8. Lights Out

-One week later in the Brotherhood Mansion-

Thunder roared after lightning illuminated the dark house. A lone silhouetted figure wandered down the hall. The figure had no fear of the flashing lightning or the rumble of thunder that came after.

The figure expertly dodged random pieces of furniture, laundry baskets, and even Deuce the Devil Dog?

The figure looked down at the dog, lying on its back with all four legs in the air, lightly snoring.

"I thought he ran away," the figure said in confusion.

The figure peeked an eyebrow, as two yellow orbs began glowing, allowing him to see in the pitch black mansion. He made his way down the hallway but paused at a door. He leaned in closer to the door. He quickly pulled away from the door, a look of confusion on his face.

"Teeth clattering?" he asked.

He pushed open the door, and saw something with his enhanced vision that left him on the verge of tears.

"Go away!" a voice exclaimed from the room.

The figure burst out in a fit of laughter, "Freddy? What the hell are you doing?"

Freddy was under his bed, but do to his girth the bed was at an awkward angle, one side firmly planted on the ground the other, several feet above the ground.

"Todd?" he asked pulling himself out from under the bed, letting it crash down to the floor, "The power's out again," Freddy said uncharacteristically meekly.

Freddy shined his flashlight on Todd's smiling face, "Why you scared?" Todd asked as he dropped into a crouch to avoid the light.

Freddy shrugged, "It's easier to be invulnerable when you can see what's comin' at you," he said thumbing his flashlight.

Todd nodded in understanding, although he specialized in stealth, he could see how Freddy's powers worked better in head on and visual situations, "Come on buddy we'll go find the circuit breaker and I'll fix this," he said with confidence.

-Meanwhile in the Brotherhood bathroom-

Regan leaned forward in a vain attempt at brushing her teeth in the near dark. Growing frustrated she lit several candles and continued her work, the steady amount of light illuminated her curvy form, clad in only bra and panties. She looked in the mirror and admired her physique, that is until something moved in the corner of her eye.

She whirled around to meet a smiling idiot, "Lance!" she exclaimed, "How long have you been in here?" she asked in anger.

Lance smiled at her holding his guitar above the water, "Long enough to watch you poke yourself in the eye with your toothbrush," he said with a smile, strumming a few notes.

Regan peeked an eyebrow, "Why are you bathing in the dark?" she paused for a moment, "For that matter, why are you bathing at all?"

Lance smiled at her from the lavish tub, "Easier to play the guitar when you're not being pelted by water," he said strumming a few more notes.

Regan nodded, "But why now? There's no electricity the water has to be freezing," she said with a bit more worry than she intended.

Lance smirked at her and reached into the tub pulling something out, "Keeps the beer cold," he said holding up a Patented Brotherhood Five-Pack.

Regan shook her head in frustration, when ever the Brotherhood would drink, it was never a full case or a whole six-pack, and whoever got the beer would tell the story of how the store was all out of six-packs and only had five-packs.

At that very moment, Freddy and Todd burst into the room.

"Don't mind us just gotta flip the circuit breaker," Todd said going to the towel closet, and throwing open the door, then the door to the circuit breaker.

Freddy stood behind Todd holding up his flashlight. He eyed Lance suspiciously, "You play the guitar naked?" he asked peeking an eyebrow in confusion.

"Hey! What I do while bathing is my business!" Lance exclaimed.

Suddenly the lights flickered but immediately turned back off, "Damn," Todd said scratching his head, "Musta took out a transformer," Todd said with a shrug. He then reached into the tub and grabbed a couple of beers, he tossed one to Freddy.

"Cold," Freddy said with a small smile.

Todd nodded, "Come on we'll play cards in Lance's room 'til he's done playing naked," he said taking a swig of his beer, and walking out of the room.

Lance slumped into the tub, "Do you think we're all getting a little too comfortable with each other?" he asked his wife.

His question was met with a long loud belch, Lance looked away from his wife as she was pulling out the mother of all wedgies, "What did you say, honey?" she asked.

Lance strummed a few more notes, "I want a divorce," he said with a furrowed brow.

Regan walked over to him and grabbed a beer, "Fine, but I keep your car," she said with a smirk.

Lance chuckled, "I love you," he said with a smile.

Regan leaned in and kissed him, "Yeah, yeah," she said walking out of the room, leaving a naked guitar playing Lance behind.

Lance began strumming a few more notes, taking in several things he's noticed over the last few months, "We need hobbies," he said cracking open his last beer.

-Meanwhile down the hall in Pietro's room-

Karima walked through the door that joined her room with Pietro's. She held herself tightly as she walked the length to Pietro's bed, but every time there was a crack of thunder, she would pause and shudder.

She had finally closed the gap between herself and the bed. She looked down at the sleeping mass beneath the comforter and let a smile cross her face. Nothing ever seemed to scare the speed demon.

"Pietro," she whispered, "Is it okay if I sleep with you tonight?" she asked hurriedly, afraid the thunder may cut her off.

She heard a low grunt emanate from the comforter.

Taking it as a yes, she lifted the comforter, and crawled under it until she found a balled up source of warmth, "Thank you," she whispered as she made herself comfortable.

Her courtesy was met with another grunt.

She snaked her arm around Pietro's lithe stomach, and snuggled into the back of his neck, inhaling the scent of his short black hair, "Strawberries," she said with a small smile, letting her hand trail up his stomach cupping one of his large full breasts… Karima's eyes shot open, "A breast?" she questioned, giving it a couple of quick firm squeezes.

Both figures shot into a sitting position, Karima's hand still firmly attached to the breast.

"I never though I'd ever have to say this again, but get off my sister!"

Both women turned to the door and saw Pietro standing at the foot of the bed with a flashlight.

Wanda glared at the metallic woman, "Well don't just sit there, why are you in here?" she asked.

Karima looked between Wanda and Pietro, "I thought she was you," she said to Pietro, turning back to face Wanda she spoke again, "I'm well… afraid of being struck by lightning…" she said in a meek tone.

Wanda shook her head, "I appreciate the effort but could you be afraid of lightning without holding my tit?" she asked sarcastically.

"Sorry," Karima said, finally retracting her hand. The twins continued to stare at her, "Parts of my body are made of metal," she explained, "So, I attract electrical currents, and lightning would overload my generator."

Pietro nodded in understanding, "And you just let her grab you?" he asked changing the subject as to let the Sentinel keep some of her dignity.

Wanda crossed her arms, "Well I didn't wake up until she started squeezing it," she said defensively rubbing her recently molested breast, but she quickly moved onto anger, "And where were you during all of this?"

Pietro stared at his sister for a moment before answering, "During the fondling?" he asked narrowly avoiding a hex-bolt, "If you must know I was downstairs getting a drink," he said as if it were the holiest of truths, "Had I known my sister and best friend were getting it on, in my bed no less, I would have brought the video camera," he said with just a hint of sarcasm, "So how are we…" he trailed off pointing at the bed.

"I'm not leaving," Wanda said firmly.

"But…" Karima started but trailed off. After all how could she compete with the bond that twins shared?

Seeing the fear in her eyes, Pietro sighed, "Wanda scoot over, I'll sleep in the middle," he stated crawling up the bed and resting his head on his pillow, "And I can't believe I'm saying this, but there will be nothing sexual happing on this bed tonight," he said in an authoritative voice.

Karima climbed back into bed allowing Pietro too spoon with her.

"And I'll know if you try something," Wanda said pushing her back against Pietro's.

"How?" Karima asked in a curious tone.

"Because Pietro's hands are bigger," Wanda replied with an unnoticeable smirk.

Karima's eyes went wide, but she refused to ask any more questions.

-The next, now sunny, morning in St. John's room-

St. John's eyes fluttered open. He took in his surroundings very slowly, noticing various machines pushed against the wall, each one in the off position. With great effort he moved his hands along his chest and noticed he was absent Wanda's glorious chest. He was both joyful and distressed at the situation. He let his hands go down to his boxers and lift the hem, allowing him a quick view of his manhood.

"Look out 'Mara, Johnny's comin' for your ass!" he said with a lecherous grin.


	9. Powerless

-A few hours later in Charles' office-

Charles sat behind his desk eyeing his staff. In the two chairs across from his sat Scott and Hank, behind Scott, Ororo was leaning on the back of the chair, while Logan leaned against the bookcase to Charles' left.

"It's been a week, what is our current condition?" Charles asked with a sigh.

Hank removed his glasses and began cleaning them, "Warren's X-gene has been altered on the molecular level, Amara claims to have joined Sinister for Mr. Allerdyce's well being, and Laura…" he trailed off.

"I'll deal with her," Logan said with a low growl.

Charles nodded, "The damage done to the mansion?" he asked.

"A few pieces of furniture were destroyed, the front doors have been knocked off their hinges, there are several holes in the walls, and there is one massive crater in the lawn. I've asked a few of the student to help, and the job is almost complete," Ororo said with an optimistic smile.

Charles sighed, "How are the students?" he asked looking at Scott.

"The student moral is low, no one seems to want to interact with a different squad, and no one trusts Anna or any member of her squad," Scott said shaking his head.

"And the Marauders?" Charles asked.

Logan crossed his arms, "The one's in the hospital, dead. The four we found unconscious, Fury picked 'em up a couple days ago, and the Cajun escaped the infirmary the first night," he said in a gruff voice.

"Dismissed," Charles said signaling for Logan to stay behind. Logan stood in front of Charles until they were sure they were alone. Charles leaned back in his chair, "Go easy on her Logan, she doesn't understand her situation," he said in a calm voice.

"Oh she'll understand after I gut and hang Speedy from the chandelier," he said leaving the room.

-Meanwhile in the bathroom at the Brotherhood Mansion-

Water pummeled the lithe speedster's frame as steam rose over the curtain, fogging over the mirror. Pietro stood in the middle of the shower allowing each droplet of water to splash onto his body. With his enhanced perception, he could actually trace a single water drop's journey from the nozzle to his chest.

"Pietro!"

"What?" he asked in annoyance.

"Are you listening to me?" Wanda asked wiping the condensation from the mirror as she began applying her make up.

"I can't hear you, I have shampoo in my hair," he said bluntly.

Wanda rolled her eyes, "So how long have you been sleeping with her?" she asked applying some feminine make up item.

"Who?" Pietro asked in confusion.

"Who do you think?" Wanda asked sarcastically.

"Karima," Pietro said more to himself than his sister, he paused for a moment, "On and off since she moved in."

"Really?" Wanda asked in surprise, "It's a miracle she isn't pregnant."

"What? We've never had sex," Pietro said hurriedly.

Wanda whirled around in shook, "You just said that you've been sleeping with her since she moved in," she said staring at the silhouette in the curtain.

"I know," he responded in a solid tone, "This is going to sound weird, especially coming from my mouth, but two people can occupy the same bed and not have sex."

"I'm proud of you," she said with a small smile.

"Speaking of inappropriate comments," Pietro said in a slightly embarrassed tone, "Why'd you freak her out with that hand comment?"

She threw open the curtain exposing Pietro to the harsh cold, "Look here little brother, she knows I was kidding," she stared him in the eyes for a moment, reading his expression, "For some reason she likes you, even after she's gotten to know the real you. So, I wouldn't put too much thought into it."

"What?" Pietro asked in surprise, "She doesn't like me."

Wanda smirked and started walking out of the bathroom. She then threw a hex-bolt over her shoulder, "Open your eyes little brother," the bolt collided with the shower head, causing it to shoot flames.

"Owe!"

Wanda passed a stunned Lance in the hall, "How long have you been standing there?" she asked in annoyance.

"Long enough to know that we have gotten way to comfortable with each other," Lance said shaking his head, as he decided to walk away from the twin, "Oh yeah, Johnny woke up last night. He's downstairs eating breakfast."

-Several minutes later in the kitchen-

There he was, St. John Fernando Allerdyce. Pyro, the Mutant Master of Fire. Sitting at the end of the table, a cup of coffee in his right hand and a fork in his left he stared out among his extended family.

Regan sat to his left eating a couple of eggs, while her husband sat to her left, reading the paper, nursing a cup of coffee, and to Lance's left, sat Freddy eating a huge plate of eggs and ham.

To his right sat Wanda picking at her breakfast, he had to admit to himself that seeing her from this angle, was a bit strange after sharing a body for so long. To her left sat her twin brother, Pietro, leaning back in his chair, arms crossed, eyes closed and plate clean. Karima sat next to Pietro, happily eating her breakfast, seemingly without a care in the world.

Directly across from him sat Todd, reading a magazine, every now and then his tongue would flick out scooping up some food and returning to his mouth.

Raven came into view and poured some coffee for them, starting with St. John and rotating clockwise.

Regan reached for her cup and took a small sip. She immediately pulled the cup away from her mouth, "John, don't drink the coffee," she said in a cautious tone.

Her eyes, as well as the eyes of the other Brotherhood members, went wide as she watched St. John chug the contents of the cup in a few gulps.

He smiled and put the cup down, noticing everyone was staring at him, "What? Do oih got somethin' on moih face?" he asked cleaning off his cheeks with his napkin.

"You okay? No burns?" Regan asked curiously.

St. John furrowed his brow, "Whoih wouldn't oih be okay? Oih don't think oih got any burns, Sheila," he said eyeing the blonde woman suspiciously.

She tried to explain, but found a hand on her arm. Lance then reached out for his coffee and poured it onto his plate.

St. John instantly knew what they were talking about when the liquid made contact with the cool plate steam arose signaling the intense heat it had achieved.

"Oh," he said worriedly, "It wasn't that hot when oih drank it," he stared into his cup.

Now it was no secret that St. John fancied himself the Mutant Master of Fire, able to control damn near any form of fire, no matter the size or intensity, and bend it to his will. But it was a well guarded Brotherhood secret that St. John was not immune to the intense heat or being burned by fire that either wasn't in his control, or fire that he simply quit controlling. After all, that's why his suit was flame retardant.

"What do you think it means?" Regan asked the group of gathered mutants.

Wanda simply nudged her brother, resulting in him pulling a bottle of pocket mouth wash out of his pocket. Wanda grabbed the bottle and drank every last drop. She then nudged her brother once more, resulting in him pulling a lighter out of his other pocket.

Wanda flicked it on and sprayed the alcohol based liquid into the open flame at the re-established resident Aussie.

No one flinched no one even moved they just watched as the Aussie was set ablaze. There was a sudden crash as the chair gave way, and St. John fell flat on his ass. "Owe," he said his shirt blackened and smoking, "That wasn't fair Sheila," he coughed out a puff of smoke, "Oih can't feel moih legs."

"That's why I pulled this out of the basement," Raven said rolling a wheel chair out from the pantry.

"Moih wheels!" St. John exclaimed pulling himself into the chair, and ringing the little bell he had installed the last time he was forced to use it.

Lance put a hand on his shoulder, "We kept it just the way you left it when you broke your legs on the go-kart," Lance said with a small smile.

With that the Brotherhood shared a good long laugh.

"Hey wait a damn minute! You goihys just let Wanda loihght me on fire!" he exclaimed, "Did you know oih wouldn't be burned?" he asked.

"Didn't have a clue," Lance said with the Patented Brotherhood Smile of Innocence.

St. John smiled back, "Fair enough."

-A few hours later at a Restaurant in downtown Bayville-

Anna Marie Darkholme wore a simple sleeveless, thigh length green dress with an open back, with green flats and elbow length gloves. Her hair was tied in a pony tail but her bangs still framed her face. She sat in a chair in the middle of the busy restaurant stirring her tea slowly. She would occasionally cast a glance at the person sitting across from her, but would quickly divert her eyes when she felt the other person look at her.

"Ah don't know whah ah'm here," Anna said staring at her tea, "Ah don't even know whah ah'm gonna tell ya this," she paused for a moment, "But ah guess no matter what ya've trahed to be there for meh…" she trailed off, looking into the other person's eyes, "Ah fought Gambit and somethin' happened," she furrowed her brow, as if she didn't quite understand the situation herself, "He got into mah mahnd, but not lahke a telepath. He used his powers, and charged parts of mah brain," she shook her head, "Ah still don't know whah ah'm about to tell ya this but… ah lost mah powers," she looked down at her hands, "Mah strength, the invulnerability," a small smile crept onto her face, "Flahght… it was amazing," she frowned, "But now nothin' and ah'm afraid to touch anyone."

"Go ahead," the other person said.

Anna removed her glove and reached for the other person's hand making contact with her index finger, for as short a period of time as she possibly could.

"Well it seems you still have your pull," the person asked slightly out of breath.

Anna smirked, "Ya never stop do ya?" she asked but didn't allow any time for a response, "Ya teamed me with Lance for a reason. Ah knew it was weird to have both team leaders on a single squad," she gave a soft chuckle, "Ya wanted me to see first hand, one of the best mutant leaders didn't ya?"

"When did you figure it out?" the figure asked.

"Ah had a hunch, but ah didn't know for sure til rahght now," she paused for several minutes, "Thanks Mama."

Raven smiled, "Of course dear."


	10. Phoenix Burning

-A few days later in the Brotherhood Mansion-

The Brotherhood Boys of Bayville sat on their couches, and wheelchair in St. John's case. Todd sat with the remote flipping through the channels.

"New York is under siege."

He changed the channel.

"Mass hysteria!"

He pushed the channel button.

"Rioting in the streets."

He flipped the channel.

"Brotherhood to blame?"

He clicked over again.

"So sharp watch it will cut through this aluminum can!"

Wanda suddenly ran into the room, "Did you see that?" she exclaimed.

"Sure did Sheila, cut through that can and still sharp enough to cut through a tomato!" St. John exclaimed in amazement.

Wanda promptly hexed the boys to the ground, "Not that you idiots!" She grabbed the remote and put it on the news.

"Reports are coming in of mass hysteria in and around Central Park. It appears that anyone within a five mile radius seems to lose any and all sanity. No one seems to know what exactly is causing it, but several are placing sole blame on the mutant 'threat'," the reporter said.

Wanda turned off the T.V. "It's Jean," she said making her way out of the room.

"How do you know?" Pietro asked speeding in front of his sister.

"I just know," she said just as they could hear jet engines start and fade off into the distance, "And so do the X-Men."

Lance got to his feet, "All right suit up, we can beat the X-geeks if Wanda teleports us there," he said stretching out his arms.

"What are we gonna do when we get there yo?" Todd asked as he hoped to Lance's side.

"Nothing, I'm going alone," Wanda said pushing her brother out of her way and continuing down the hall.

-Wanda's room several minutes later-

Wanda wore her Scarlet Witch uniform. She was sitting on her bed staring at a short blue knife, with several runes etched into the blade.

"I stole that from the wizard."

Wanda looked up to see her brother standing at the door, "I've done a lot of research on this blade…" she trailed off for a moment, "Pietro… I don't know what to do," she said on the verge of tears.

"I know Wanda, but I can't tell you what to do," Pietro said sitting beside her on her bed.

"I want to go, to be with her, to confront her, to stop her, but I love her," she said tears rolling down her face.

"You know they say if you love something, you should let it go... that's total bullshit, if you love someone you fight tooth and nail to keep them by your side," he said placing an arm around her shoulder.

Wanda chuckled at her brother's bit of wisdom, "Maybe it just makes you obsessive," she said wiping away the tears.

"That may be true," he sighed, "But can you live the rest of your life knowing you didn't try?"

"Thanks," she said giving him a hug and disappearing in her signature scarlet light.

Pietro got up, and actually walked out of the room and down to his own. He slowly pulled on his uniform and walked back into the hall. He walked to the stairs and descended them. He then walked towards the door but came face to face with Karima Shapandar the Omega Sentinel.

Her arm shifted into her plasma cannon and she aimed it at the speedster, "Don't leave," she said eyes pleading.

"I won't let Wanda do this alone," he said, a determined look on his face.

She took a deep breathe before speaking, "The entire Brotherhood could not beat Jean, much less Jean and Wanda," she said her cannon slowly charging.

"Sounds like a challenge," he said with smirk.

Karima shook her head, her scans indicated that Quicksilver wasn't in control it was Pietro. He finally didn't need his other half, but that did little to comfort her, "If you take one more step towards that door I will shoot," she said as menacingly as she could, although her eyes betrayed her.

Pietro continued walking until he was side by side with her, "Thanks for loving me," he whispered into her ear and disappeared in an instant.

Karima stood there for a moment, and barged through the door, completely ignoring the squad of X-Men in front of her and taking to the air. She stopped some fifty up and began shooting wildly in all directions.

Raven immediately walked out of the door, and saw Anna and her squad on her front porch.

"None of ya are supposed to leave," Anna said in an indifferent tone.

"They left you behind?" Raven asked leaning against the door.

Anna eyed her mother for a moment, "Yeah, said they couldn't trust us just yet," she said in a monotone voice.

Raven nodded in understanding, "Come in, the boys are upstairs, the twins are out, and Karima will tire herself out eventually," she said ushering them into the mansion, "Make yourselves at home, everyone should be home soon," she said the last part more to herself than anyone else.

-Meanwhile at the edge of Central Park-

General Nick Fury stood in front of a SHIELD console watching as several other SHIELD officers and scientists scurried around, trying to find an adequate solution for this monumental problem. But as we all know Fury always has an ace up his sleeve.

"The psyonic shield is in place, sir!" a scientist called out to the General.

"Dismissed," Fury responded. Fury looked out over his subordinates and sighed. He then looked at his watch noticing the second hand was frozen in space, which caused him smirked, "I thought you wouldn't show," he said to seemingly no one, "Did you bring your lieutenants?"

Suddenly there was a soft thud as feet touched the ground, followed by several guns being cocked and aimed.

Fury lifted his hand, signaling for them to be at ease, "We all know those won't do a damn thing against him," he said in a smug tone.

"What do you want me to do?" the figure asked.

"Talk to her, subdue her, if need be kill her," Fury said waving his hand in the air, "You know whatever it is you do in this type of situation."

"You would have me take the life of a fellow mutant?" the figure asked, "You are a fool."

Fury pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket and handed it to the figure, "There are over thirty known mutant signatures in a ten mile radius, she could kill them all," he said furrowing his brow.

"Slay one to save many?" the figure said in disgust, "Where should I start?"

"By taking care of them first," Fury said pointing behind the figure, "Unless the great Master of Magnetism is losing his touch."

Erik eyed the human, "You cannot use reverse psychology on a superior being," he promptly turned to look in the sky and saw the X-jet flying over head. He reached out with his powers and stopped it in mid flight. He then gently brought it down to the ground in front of the SHIELD soldiers.

Charles wheeled himself off, followed by all of his X-Men, minus Anna's squad, "Magnus what are you doing?" Charles asked in complete disbelief.

"Something you don't have the nerve to do," Erik said snapping his fingers. Suddenly the Acolytes appeared from thin air.

Fury stepped in between both squads of mutants, "We may need all the help we can get," he said eyeing Charles and Erik respectively, "She's emitting a dangerous amount of psyonic energy. My psychics tell me that unless she's stopped the added stress will result in an aneurism."

"Well that certainly takes care of our problem," Paris said crossing his arms.

"Wrong. If she dies without retracting her power, everyone in her range will die of a psychic backlash," Fury said rubbing his temple, "We have to find another way."

"I say we attack her in rotation, see if we can't just wear her down," Logan said in a low growl, "Cause we are not killing that girl."

There was a feint scarlet light and Wanda appeared, "No you're not," she said walking to Erik's side, "Father, I need a favor," Erik nodded, "Keep the X-Men at bay, I have to speak with Jean."

There was a sudden outburst of X-Men as they tried to talk Erik out of his decision.

Charles shook his head, "Erik you can't possibly…"

Erik immediately cut him off, "You heard the Princess of Genosha! Go! Amuse yourselves!" he exclaimed in the most intimidating voice any one had ever heard, resulting in the Acolytes to leap into action. He then turned to his daughter, "Go to your loved one. Be with her."

She nodded and ran into the park.

-Several seconds later-

Wanda ran she ran as hard and fast as her legs would take her, she finally arrived at the fountain at the center of the park. She slowed into a walk and noticed Jean sitting on the fountain. She walked to her lover's side and sat down next to her.

"You're late," Jean said in a tired and depressed tone.

"What do you mean?" Wanda said leaning her head on Jean's shoulder.

"Not you," Jean extended her arm, and her eyes began to glow. Suddenly Pietro appeared, his eyes glazed over, "Him," blood began trickling from Pietro's nose, "He came here to stop me, so you wouldn't have to."

Wanda looked at her now unconscious brother, "Is he okay?" she asked with worry.

Jean nodded, "I stopped him at near light speed, and forced him to sleep," Jean reached for Wanda's hand and held it tight, "You know don't you?" she asked staring in front of her.

"Yeah, I do," Wanda responded in a disheartened tone.

Jean shook her head, "I'm dying… I can feel it."


	11. Intimacy Interrupted

-A few minutes later in the Brotherhood Kitchen-

Amara walked to the fridge and opened the door. She then bent over and looked at its contents, sifting through various expired and fuzzy items. Suddenly she felt a small tickle on her rump.

"Stop it," she said with a blush.

She then felt a small practice pat.

"Quit," she chuckled out, still rummaging in the fridge.

She felt her zipper being undone.

"Give up," she said, purposely wiggling her butt.

Suddenly, she felt two hands ease down the back of her pants and cup her.

"No," she said with a small moan.

"Mystique didn't raise a quitter, love," St. John said with a lecherous smile.

-Meanwhile in the Brotherhood Garage-

Regan leaned against the Challenger, her head down but her eyes looking up to Lance. He smiled down at her shirtless, and raised his eyebrows in intrigue. She closed the gap between them and placed her hands on his Pecs. He held her and ran his hands along her back and down to her butt; he then grabbed her by her ass and lifted her up. She twirled a grease rag over her head as she wrapped her long legs around his waist. He carried her to a bench seat and sat down, Regan now straddling his hips.

Regan leaned forward to kiss her husband but her lips wouldn't make contact this night.

"You're so much different than Pietro."

Both mutants turned their heads to see Laura standing at the open garage.

Lance peeked an eyebrow, "I though I told you to close the door," he said in an accusing tone.

Regan whipped her head to stare at Lance, "Yeah? And I thought I told you I hated that shirt," she said in frustration grabbing said shirt off the floor.

"You did, but what you fail to realize is that's why it's my favorite shirt!" he exclaimed in response wrenching it out of her grasp and throwing it on a near by stool.

Laura rolled her eyes and cleared her throat regaining their attention.

Regan glared at the younger girl, "Are you going to keep staring or do you feel the need to elaborate?" she asked sarcastically.

"I could hear you from the living room, you make more noise than Wolverine and the blue-woman," Laura said now leaning against the door frame.

"So you decided to come and peep?" Regan asked with a smirk.

"I was curious, you're not like Pietro," Laura responded staring Lance in the eyes.

Lance peeked an eyebrow, "Thank you?" he said in confusion.

"Pietro is so fast, so careful, so intense, he vibrates, and my mind explodes," Laura said with a shudder.

"Too much information," Regan said sticking out her tongue in disgust.

"But Lance," Laura continued unfazed, "Is rough, but intimate, he does things because they're romantic."

"It's not always about getting off," Lance said with a smirk.

Laura furrowed her brow, "Is that how he was with Anna?" she asked.

Lance's smirk faded, she genuinely wanted to know. "I couldn't tell you, but what I can tell you is that what you feel towards my little friend is probably just lust, you should try and find a guy, hell maybe even a girl, and try and build that romantic bond," Lance said with a nod.

Laura features shifted to determination and she promptly walked out of the garage.

"You know sometimes I forget just how caring you really are," Regan said planting kisses all over Lance's face.

Lance smiled, "I wonder if she woulda wanted to join," he said with a peeked eyebrow.

Regan glared at her husband, "You are grounded from hanging out with Pietro," she said sternly.

-A few minutes later in the Brotherhood dining room-

Anna sat across from Raven with her arms crossed below her chest. Her mouth would open as if she were about to speak, but no words came forth, so she was forced to slowly close it. She would continue to stare as Raven read through the news paper, seemingly having nothing better to do.

"We should be out there," Anna finally said with a sigh.

Raven put down her paper to look her daughter in the eyes, "Anna Marie, we can't get involved between a lover's spat," she said calmly.

"A lover's spat?" Anna asked with wide eyes, "All of this is because Jean and Wanda aren't gettin' along?"

Raven nodded in confirmation, "Granted both lovers are exponentially more powerful than most, it is still a matter that only the two of them can solve," Raven explained folding her newspaper and setting it down on the table.

"But… Pietro's out there," Anna said with more worry in her voice than she intended, "And Jean's not rahght, she could take out most of the city," she said quickly in an attempt to cover her true emotions.

Emotions, that didn't go unnoticed by the resident shape-shifter. "You have feelings for him don't you?" Raven asked knowing full well what her daughter's answer would be, "Tell, me why you left him," she said, eyes pleading.

Anna buried her face in her hands, "Ah thought ah could protect him, if he wasn't mah boyfriend," she said with a hint of shame.

Raven nodded mulling over the information, "Why would he need your protection?" her voice wasn't accusing, or defensive, it was curiosity.

Anna looked at her mother for a moment then worked up the courage to explain her actions, "Remy showed up in mah room one nahght, and… he told meh to break it off with Pietro, or he'd get his cronies together and kill him… but before I could answer, Pietro showed up, and Remy used it to his advantage. Making it seem like ah still had feelings for him," Anna suddenly found the table very interesting.

Raven examined her daughter's body language for a moment, head bowed in shame, restless hands occupied by a cloth napkin, "You hurt the boy Anna Marie," Raven said in a soft tone, "But he, although an idiot, is still in love with you."

"Ah know," Anna responded with a smile.

But as usual a touching mother daughter moment has no chance of surviving while the Brotherhood roams the halls.

The walls shook with an intense explosion.

Anna rolled her eyes, "Yours or mine?" she asked in an annoyed tone.

Raven smiled, "With my luck? Both," she responded in a slightly amused tone.

And at that moment Freddy, Todd, and Bobby ran into the room.

"So you're sure he's indestructible?" Todd asked slightly out of breath.

"Well yeah… but I've never seen him catch fire and fall into a stack of fireworks," Bobby said slowly catching his breath.

At that moment Sam walked into the room, his face covered in ash, his uniform charred, and a lone strand of hair atop his head still on fire. He looked at his comrades, "That… was awesome!" he exclaimed.

Raven and Anna shook their heads, "Idiots," they said in unison.

-Meanwhile in the living room-

Warren dashed into the living room, his wings swaying elegantly behind him; his eyes immediately fell upon Karima sitting on the couch flipping through systems on her laptop.

"Did you hear that?" Warren asked with a slight panic.

"Hear what?" Karima asked, her eyes never leaving her screen.

"The huge explosion outside!" he exclaimed now slightly out of breath.

"That's a daily occurrence in this household," she explained calmly, "You get used to it after a while."

Warren sat down next to her and starred out into space for a moment, "You're not like them are you?" he asked now looking at the side of her face.

Her head snapped to face him, "What do you mean, 'like them'? You mean a villain?" she asked in an offended tone.

"I didn't mean it like that. I've seen first hand how capable they are in the 'hero' situation," he said never losing his composure, "Any one can be a hero. All you have to do is make the choice, and maybe you could help them make that choice," he said getting to his feet and leaving the cybernetic woman alone with her thoughts.

"Could the Brotherhood be heroes?"

-In the Brotherhood kitchen… Again-

Lance and Regan walked into the room, still bickering about a certain shirt. Lance walked to the island and saw a bowl of salad.

He eyed the green leafy concoction suspiciously and reached into the bowl, "Why are their boxers in the salad?" he asked pulling said boxers out of the salad, "And a pink bra on the knife rack," he said pointing at said bra, with a bewildered look on his face.

Regan peeked an eyebrow, "And a matching pair of pink panties," she said holding them up.

Lance smiled at his wife, "Come here and look at this," he said waving her over.

Regan rounded the island and chuckled, there on the floor were St. John and Amara lying naked on the floor, the blanket that would normally keep St. John's legs warm was now keeping the two teens nudity covered.

"They're so cute together," she said with a small smile.

"Wait… he can't feel his legs, so how did they…" he trailed off scratching his head in confusion.

Regan snaked her arm through Lance's and lead him out of the kitchen, "That only means she was on top."

-A few minutes later in Central Park-

Wanda held Jean close to her body, occasionally stroking her hair. Tears stained both of their faces. Wanda quietly sobbed into the top of Jean's head.

"Can you take it all back?" Wanda asked rubbing her eyes.

"I can hear them, the SHIELD agents; they think if I absorb the power…" she paused for a moment, "It'll… speed up the process."

Wanda's breathing became erratic, "Damned if you do, damned if you don't," she said shaking her head.

Jean cupped Wanda's face and looked into her eyes, "I love you, Wanda," she said her eyes know glowing, the Phoenix raptor appearing behind her drawing in all the ambient psyonic energy.

Wanda smiled through her tears, "I love you, Jean," she said holding onto Jean's body as it went limp.


	12. Flashbacks

-One week later in the Brotherhood Kitchen-

The Brotherhood Boys of Bayville sat around the kitchen table in full uniform. Over the past week they had only gathered for meals and even then a few members would refuse to surface. Lance was drinking coffee and reading the paper, while Pietro leaned against the back of his chair with his eyes closed. Freddy scooped cereal into his mouth, while Todd wrote on a note pad with his foot. St. John sat in his wheelchair, lighter in hand, and his other hand on fire.

Lance looked up from his paper, "Johnny, put yourself out," he said in an older brother tone.

St. John shook his hand and the flame immediately went out.

An awkward silence befell the boys, until Todd started laughing.

"Hey Lance, remember the first time Mystique caught you drunk?" Todd asked between fits of laughter.

-Flashback to Lance's bedroom in the old Boarding House-

Lance slept peacefully on his bed, although he was still fully clothed. The comforter covered one of his legs.

Suddenly Raven walked into the room a beer in hand and bent down to whisper into Lance's ear, "Would you like to explain why the car is parked at such an interesting angle," her face contorted into annoyance, "In the porch," her features then turned to anger, "Across the street!" she exclaimed slapping Lance in the back of the head.

-Current time-

Lance was now emptying the contents of his stomach into the waste basket, "Yeah… good times," he said sarcastically.

The boys were starting to loosen up and laugh.

"Oh!" Todd exclaimed hopping onto the table, "Remember the first time you tried to pick a fight with Mystique?" he asked with a big toothy grin.

-Flashback to the Boarding House living room-

Lance stood face to face with Raven, hands at his side, "I did not forget to pick up Todd!" he exclaimed getting within a hair's width from Raven's face.

"The hell were you Lance? I waited outside the gas station for half an hour!" Todd exclaimed bursting through the door.

In response Raven simply cocked back her arm, and let her fist fly into Lance's jaw.

-Several minutes later-

Lance lie on his back on the floor unconscious, but drowning?

Lance woke up with a start as he saw Raven pouring a beer over his face.

"Come on," she stated calmly, "You want to fight like a man, you better start drinking like one."

-Current time-

Lance wiped his lip from throwing up in the trash again, "Little tip, fighting with your hands at your sides, leaves your face wide open," he said, not seeing his wife walk into the room.

The boys continued laughing, now with less restraint.

Todd was now sitting on the table, "Lance, Lance, Lance. Remember the first time you pulled a knife on Mystique?"

"You pulled a knife on Raven?" she asked in complete shock.

Lance nodded, "Of course, that's where I got the scar on my bicep," he said indifferently, "Besides we've all pulled a knife on her at one point or another, some of us did a lot better than others," he said smirking at Pietro.

-Flashback to Raven's bedroom at the Boarding House-

Pietro lie in Raven's bed, the comforter bunched in his hands covering his chest, while Raven sat against the headboard wearing a teddy, that was slightly ripped and out of place, smoking a cigarette.

Suddenly Lance walked into the room, "Hey Mystique, you seen…" he peeked an eyebrow at the situation, "I didn't see anything!" he exclaimed slamming the door shut.

-Current time-

Lance pulled his head out of the trash once again, as the Brotherhood laughed harder than they had all week, "I hate flashbacks," he said in a nauseated tone.

Todd smiled, "Come on Lance, one more," Lance waved him off, "Remember the first time we met Anna?" he asked with a devilish smirk.

Lance rolled his eyes.

-Flashback to the Brotherhood Boarding House foyer-

Todd hoped over the banister and down to the ground floor holding a calculator in his hand.

"Hey Lance check it out I spelled 'boobs' on the calculator!" he exclaimed waving the small device in the air.

Lance walked into the room thumbing through a book he was supposed to be reading, "Nice," he said with a smile.

Suddenly the door was kicked open revealing an annoyed Anna.

Todd jumped back, "Lance, help it's a Dracula!" he exclaimed in fear.

Lance rolled his eyes, "She's not a Dracula, Todd," he stated calmly, "She's a Frankenstein," he nodded as if it were the absolute truth.

Anna glared daggers at the boys reaching to a small table she grabbed a small vase.

"No!" the boys exclaimed in unison.

Anna proceeded to chuck the vase at the boys, but to her surprise, they both dove towards it in a vain attempt to catch it. One of them should have succeeded but alas, they misjudged each other and collided face to face while the vase shattered on the stairs.

"Did I just hear two dead idiots break my favorite vase!" Raven exclaimed from the top of the stairs.

Todd rubbed his sore forehead, "We're all gonna die…" he said with a pained expression on his face.

"You got that right," Lance said clutching his nose and tilting his head backwards.

-Current time-

Lance wiped his mouth with a dish towel, "She kicked our asses for an hour straight," he said with a small smile.

Todd nodded furiously, "Hurt like hell," he said with a big toothy grin.

But as with many things in life, the laughter too had to die. The boys were quickly engulfed in an awkward silence, leaving a puzzled Regan to examine each and everyone of their faces, to see if she could gain some semblance of what they were thinking, without actually having to pry into their minds.

Regan was quickly losing her patience. She had watched the boys for an entire week, week of moping around the house, a week of awkward silences, a week of being alone, just a week of non-Brotherhood style behavior.

Regan slammed both fists on the table and glared daggers at the boys, "What the hell is wrong with you guys?" she asked angrily, "You've barely spoke to each other all week, and here Todd is trying to hold you idiots together! What! The! Hell!" she exclaimed now short of breath.

Lance drank from his favorite mug and upon setting it down he spoke, "Last week we felt our mortality," he looked up to face his wife before he continued speaking, "And we didn't like it one damn bit."

Regan's eyes softened, "This is about the Jean thing?" she asked barely above a whisper.

"Partly, she knows we'll be at her side if she needs us, but she… she just left us here, to be useless. Like we're helpless," Lance said furrowing his brow.

"Omega's tend to have that effect on regular mutants," Regan said in a reassuring voice.

"No, we don't back away from a fight," the boys nodded in agreement, "We won't back down, you could stand us up at the gates of Hell, and we wouldn't back down. We stand our ground because that's the only thing we know how to do," Lance said in a low angry voice.

"She had her reasons," Regan said in a whisper.

"We know that, everyone's got their reasons. It's not that it was… that she chose Magneto and his team over us," he said looking into her eyes, his eyes betraying the hurt he felt, "We can handle the X-Men just as good as those over powered freaks."

Regan nodded in full understanding, but she also understood, the desperation Wanda must have felt. No one should have to see a loved one in such a position.

-Several hours later in Wanda's room-

Barely eating, barely sleeping, Wanda has laid half naked on her bed since that fateful night, a night that she constantly replays in her head.

-Flashback, one week ago in Central Park-

Wanda held onto Jean's body as it slowly began to turn to ash. Her cheeks were stained with tears that had been shed for several minutes. Every so often a dry sob would escape her throat. Wanda shuddered as the last remnants of Jean's body had been scattered by the wind.

If she wouldn't have been in such a depressing state she would have heard Logan as he approached her, "Never easy losing the girl you thought you could spend the rest of your life with is it?" he asked.

Wanda looked up at the older man, he uniform was ripped and stained with blood, "You have no idea how I feel," she said in anger, rubbing her eyes as she tried to get to her feet.

Logan sat on the fountain and watched as her legs gave out and she collapsed back onto the fountain, "Yeah I don't know how you feel… Me!" he exclaimed sarcastically, "I've lost more girlfriends and fiancés and lovers than you've had pimples," he said the last part in a softer tone; he then removed his mask allowing her to see the sorrow in his eyes.

Wanda features contorted in anger, but tears still streamed from eyes, "I just… I feel like…" she growled, "I don't even know!" she exclaimed, her fists clenched tightly.

"It's like someone shot a cannonball right through your gut, leaving this great big hole. Eventually it starts to close up from the outside in, and one day, it'll be different, the hurt won't be as bad," he placed a hand on her shoulder, "Course then you'll hear a song or somebody will laugh a certain way or the wind will blow the wrong way and the hole will tear wide open again," he said getting to his feet.

"I think I liked it better when you were just an old man, who's only love was beer," she stated getting to her feet.

Logan helped steady her before he started speaking again, "It's called 'depression' because it is depressing. A death isn't like losing a job or getting divorced you don't 'get over it.' You have to integrate it into your life. Learn to live with it. But… life does get better."

"Someday?" she asked kneeling down by her brother, and placing his head into her lap.

"Best you can hope for…" he said walking away from the young woman.

"Someday," she said as she and her brother were engulfed in her scarlet light.

-Current time-

Wanda fingered the ring she had given Jean before the Brotherhood fought Blackheart, "I love you Jean," she then rolled off her bed and threw open the curtains, "Someday."

**A/N:** Wolverine's touching speech, Fallen Son: Spider-Man


	13. X Force

-One week later in the Canadian Wilderness-

The man known to the world at large as the Wolverine sat upon a log poking at a roaring fire with a stick. He wore blues jeans and a flannel button up shirt, the cold did little to him as he had once called this place home.

Logan looked up from the flame and examined his surroundings. He looked to his left to see Bobby Drake sitting against a tree. He noted that the boy sat the farthest away from the fire. Bobby wore baggy cargo shorts and a tight black long sleeved shirt, obviously the cold took little toll on the body of the notorious Iceman.

Logan then shifted his gaze to probably the most, hard working teen at the mansion, Sam Guthrie. The boy wore a pair of blue jeans, a black t-shirt, and a standard black and yellow leather X-jacket. Sam sat facing Bobby as the two were involved in some idle chit chat about something Logan didn't care to know about. The boys had obviously become very close, Bobby showing Sam how to have fun with pranks and jokes, and Sam showing Bobby some self control and, although not as good as Logan would like, the Kentucky born teen did improve Bobby's work ethic.

Logan nodded to himself the boys were a good influence on one another even if they weren't exactly the sharpest claws jutting from his knuckles…

Logan then looked at Amara she sat the closest to the fire almost too close for Logan's tastes, but the princess was used to higher temperatures. She also wore the most clothes, blues jeans, a thermal long sleeved shirt, and ear muffs, all on top of her X-uniform. He knew the reason she had betrayed the X-Men, to save her love. He also couldn't find the fuel to be angry with her either he suspected that if it would have saved any of his past loves he would have done the same thing.

So he moved on to Anna Marie Darkholme. She sat directly in front of him and wore almost as many clothes as Amara. Coming from the humid state of Mississippi would do that to just about anyone. Logan thought about the young girl constantly, she was like a second daughter to him. He had done his best to protect her but even the famed Wolverine has his faults, he couldn't very well protect her from the world, but he could try.

Logan then turned to his actual daughter Laura Kinney. She wore blue jeans and the female version of the X-jacket. She lay on her back staring up at the stars. Logan was a tough old man, but he had to be tough, he had to make up for every crappy event in the young girl's life. He swore to every deity that had ever crossed his path, that if he had known about her existence at all, he would have personally murdered everyone within a five mile radius of the compound. But, since he didn't he had to settle for being her protector, being the man to give her life meaning, showing her that there's more in life than completing the 'mission.'

Last but certainly not least, Logan looked to the top of a boulder to see Warren Worthington III. He wore a pair of blue jeans and the standard X-jacket, his wings jutting out from the back. Although he'd never admit it he admired the young teen. He had selflessly offered himself to Sinister in order to keep an eye on the Fire Princess and his daughter. Although he did walk away with a few 'upgrades' and a few 'scars' to boot, he also moved up in Logan's book, from rich spoiled snob, to rich noble protector.

Logan tossed his stick into the flame, "I'm actually proud of the six of you, you stood up to your peers and fought for something you believed in," he said with an unemotional look on his face, "But you gotta realize, those Brotherhood kids ain't like the X-Men, they're more than welcome to join us, but although they'd be standing next to Beast and Nightcrawler and Cyclops, they're something else entirely."

Laura pushed herself up so that she was leaning on her elbows; "Something like us?" she asked slightly confused by his concept.

"Yeah," he said with a sarcastic laugh.

"So… where exactly is this going?" Bobby asked tilting his head to the side.

"In the eyes of the X-Men, mutant-human relations is a black and white situation, but there's always grey in any situation," he looked over the kids, "It's like this, the X-Men represent co-existing with mankind, Magneto represents all out war, and the Brotherhood is in the middle, livin' life the best way they can," he explained.

Anna peeked an eyebrow, "So ya want us to be like them," she stated in a monotone voice.

"Except less indifferent," he said with a nod, "But you gotta be just as strong and ruthless."

Sam shot to his feet, "Wait, so we ain't X-Men anymore?" he asked anger present in his eyes.

"Nope," Logan stated flatly, "You're something else entirely," the group of former X-Men stared at their elder in complete shock, "From now on you're X-Force."

"Such a touching speech Wolverine," a small man wearing a black uniform chuckled from behind the gruff Canadian.

"Sounds like he's gotten soft, Puck," another giant sized man with a deeper voice said with a growl.

Wolverine stood up slowly and unsheathed his claws, "Alpha Flight," he said with a growl as several other individuals came into view.

A man wearing a red and white Canadian inspired uniform spoke, "Wolverine you have two options, come back willingly or in pieces," he said as his body started glowing.

"Guardian you're a dick, and you've always been one," Logan rolled his shoulders, "X-Force, pair off and take 'em out," he ordered as he leapt claw first at the taller man.

The dwarf known as Puck leapt onto the boulder in a single bound.

Puck threw a punch at Warren, but he captured the fist with his hand. A smirk crossed his face as his wings took on a metal sheen. He spread his wings and began systematically cutting the smaller man with the tips of his feathers.

Laura leapt onto the shoulders of the tallest, and hairiest, adversary she had ever faced. She began savagely slashing at his shoulders, until he grabbed her by the throat and promptly threw her at Warren sending both teens on a trip to the ground.

"Child you know nothing of the magics you face," a shamanic man said, "Shaman will defeat you!" but before he could leap into action several magma filled fissure surrounded him, as uttered a spell and Amara was assaulted by several wilderness spirits.

A woman with snow white hair descended onto the scene and placed her hand under Bobby's chin, "My name is Snowbird young one," she said rendering Bobby complete speechless, "Men are so easily distracted," she said with a small smirk.

Sam activated his blast field and slammed into a woman wearing a green and yellow uniform, "How can you be doing this much damage?" she asked straining to keep her own force field up. As if in response Sam slammed her into a tree.

"Vindicator!" a very familiar feminine teen yelled. She and her brother were the pair that attacked Pietro and Wanda so long ago.

"Watch your back!" Anna exclaimed as she grabbed the girl's face, after a few seconds she realized that she was stuck to her.

"Northstar! Get this Goth bitch off me!" Aurora said trying to push Anna off of her with diminishing strength.

"Aurora," her brother exclaimed running towards the two girls.

Then with blinding speed she back handed Northstar, but something unexpected happened touching both twins at the same time resulted in some sort of feedback that caused a massive amount of heat and light.

-Seven minutes later-

Logan got to his feet and looked around, he noticed Sam giving Anna CPR, a piece of cloth covering her lips so he could breathe life into her lungs.

"Sam is she okay?" he said worry apparent his voice.

Sam nodded slowly, as Anna began breathing on her own.

Laura walked to Logan's side cradling her arm, "You take too long to heal old man," she said before a popping the bones in her forearm into place.

Logan shook his head and threw Bobby and Warren over his shoulders, "Pick up Amara, Sam grab Anna," he looked at the unconscious Alpha Flight and growled in frustration, "Let's go!" he exclaimed.

-An hour or so later in the Med Bay-

Logan sat at the foot of Anna's bed as she stared right back at him. He helplessly watched her as she appeared to be vibrating. When asked what could have possibly done this, Logan explained the Beaubier twins particular power set. Superhuman speed, flight, and when they touched they emitted a white hot bright light.

Hank ran over Anna's chart as he stared at her, he thought about using the power removing potion, but the adverse effect it had on Pietro made him skeptical, and there was no guarantee that it would permanently remove the speed powers.

"Well it seems that when Ms. Darkholme touched both twins, she completed a circuit, so to speak, which triggered their light discharge, and permanently imbued her with a copy of both of their powers," he said adjusting his glasses.

As he finished his analysis the doors slid open to reveal Pietro, closely followed by Karima and Wanda, "So what's so important that you couldn't tell me on the phone?" he asked in an annoyed tone already tapping his foot, being careful not to create a sonic-boom.

Anna's mouth quickly opened then shut causing Pietro to smirk.

"No way," he said, speeding to Anna's bedside, "This is just too good."

-Pietro's speed-

"How does it feel?" he asked with a smile.

Anna crossed her arms, "How do I slow down?" she asked in an angry tone.

"You want to slow down?" he asked shaking his head, "Come on," he held out his hand.

She placed her hand in his, "What are we gonna do?" she asked with a hint of skepticism.

"You're finally going to see what it's like to keep up with Pietro, the fastest person on this planet," he said with a smirk.

Then hand in hand they ran out of the room.

-Normal speed-

It had all taken place in the blink of an eye leaving behind several angry people.

"Pietro!" Wanda exclaimed, "You better not let me catch you!"


End file.
